John benitez bass biography book

John Benitez - acoustic and electric bass Grammy award-winning bassist John Benitez, born in Rio Piedras Puerto Rico, started playing gospel music in church at the age of thirteen. In his early twenties, he toured with Batacumbele to Columbia, South America where he continued to play and study music. Always in demand, John was asked to play with some of the top names in the country like Joe Madrid and often accompanied international touring artists like trumpeter "Chocolate" Armenteros.

His education, however, was not limited to formal classroom study. John has participated in two instructional videos with master percussionist Giovanni Hildalgo and Cuban drummer Ignacio Berroa. As a sideman and a featured special guest, John has performed in all of the major jazz festivals and venues around the world including Turkey, Jordan where he played for the royal familySouth America, Canada, Norway, Finland, and all over Europe.

Although Benitez is extremely fluid in the jazz idiom, he excels at interpreting the rhythms and styles of his native Afro-Caribbean region and the entire Pan American music book. As he puts it himself, "For me it's all the same, one great dance music, all the Caribbean, South America and New Orleans are but an extension of African music, music with that special bounce.

That's what I like the most. Colette Michaan's bamboo flute calls out over a looming drone as Earth Rebirth opens. Instruments emerge out of time to create a watery soundscape that becomes increasingly lush as John Benitez's bass brings in the tempo, with Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante's percussion chattering behind Luisito Quintero's swirling cymbals and Leo Genovese's fluid piano.

Michaan mapped the composition minimally. The flute is a suling she acquired in her travels in Indonesia, so she sketched out its scale and gave some harmonic context. As the world continues to shrink--musically speaking of course--the melding of American jazz with Mediterranean melody is another spin cycle that makes appreciation of this evolving art form so interesting.

With high expectations, Neapolitan vocalist Letizia Gambi, which hails from a theatrical family, and has extensive jazz education, releases Blue Monday, an exuberant and ambitious production that takes jazz on a romantic Italian holiday. Source: Jazz Friends News May 8, In addition to recording and touring with an all-star list of Latin Jazz musicians, he recorded his own album Descarga In New York with his trio in His impeccable time feel, broad knowledge of Cachaa 35 West 8th St bet.

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John benitez bass biography book

I know John personally and he is a no nonsense musician - here's this is the real stuff! He plays the bass guitar. He is very happy with this book. John Benitez is one of THE guys and the book is wonderful and informative. The Kindle edition does not have the musical notation properly reproduced all notation is the same - I do not recommend getting it.

However, the content looks like it will be terrific- once I purchase the paperback edition. See more reviews. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. Back to top. Get to Know Us. Make Money with Us. Amazon Payment Methods. One person found this helpful. He plays the bass guitar. He is very happy with this book. John Benitez is one of THE guys and the book is wonderful and informative.

The Kindle edition does not have the musical notation properly reproduced all notation is the same - I do not recommend getting it. However, the content looks like it will be terrific- once I purchase the paperback edition. For the sake of context, I've been playing bass for about 30 years, mostly in rock and pop settings. I've been working on expanding my musical vocabulary for a while and have bought many, many books and methods over the years.

The reality is that there are a huge number of books that will teach you how to twiddle your fingers quickly or teach you "cool licks". This book goes beyond that music-by-the-numbers mode and delivers lessons that go beyond just technique. It offers a biography and musical analysis of John Benitez, a significant player who I imagine is unknown to most people outside of the Latin music scene.

Benitez is, simply, a monster player. The transcribed songs are well selected and the transcriptions by Stewart are excellently rendered. They offer a good representation of the breadth of Benitez's work and the analysis by the author really helped me focus on the most significant elements worthy of examination. I ended up buying the recordings of the songs and discovered a whole new range of artists to explore.

As with other methods, this book offers a large number of exercises, focusing on the understanding of Latin rhythms and forms built on the clave. However, it offers one of the most clearly articulated explanations of the clave I've read as well as a very reasonable approach to learning to use it as a musical concept. There are numerous tips regrading practicing the exercises, which can get quite challenging but Stewart is a wonderful teacher and guide throughout.

More than anything else, however, what struck me about the book was Stewart's ability to write cogently and clearly soulfully! Interspersed with the musical lessons are his observations about ways to learn and practice music through sharing time with other musicians - that it's more than just about learning patterns and copping licks from players, it's about getting out there and MAKING music together.

Yes, I suppose it seems an obvious point but it is rare to see a book that actually speaks to it in an authoritative but direct and inspiring voice. In short, this book made me practice with more joy than any other in a long time. Stewart is a good writer who is clearly passionate about the material and has the chops to deliver the necessary information in a well organized and meaningful manner.

I can't wait for Volume 2 in the john benitez bass biography book. He spent the next two years playing almost exclusively with the band, visiting nearly every state in the union and opening for the likes of Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Haslip, Virgil Donati and Scott Henderson among others. After parting ways with Marbin inIan returned to Chicago and for the next year enjoyed a busy and eclectic freelance schedule once again.

In addition to performing, Ian is also a contributing writer to Timba. Convert currency. Add to basket.