Benny Benack III

Trumpeter/Vocalist Benny Benack has quickly gained an international reputation for being an incredibly versatile, fiery improvisor who lends superb technique and musicality to any setting. He has won every major jazz trumpet competition including the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Soloist Competition (2011), International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition (2011), and the National Trumpet Competition – Jazz Division (2012). He also was a finalist in the Gentlemen Sing Vocal Jazz Competition (2013), as well as the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Vocalist Competition (2014) showing his versatility as a singer.

After receiving a number of youth accolades, he’s parlayed that promising start into a blossoming career. In the August 1, 2011 issue of “Jet Magazine”, Benny was featured on Wynton Marsalis’ list of the “Next Generation of Jazz Greats”, and recently his quartet completed a Masterclass with Marsalis in Miami filmed for the National YoungArts Foundation. He is a member of the newly-formed New Century Jazz Sextet led by Ulysses Owens Jr., rounding out a formidable front-line alongside Michael Dease and Tim Green.

In demand as a recording artist, he made his Blue Note Records debut as a sideman w/pianist Chihiro Yamanaka in 2014. He is also featured as a composer/arranger, trumpeter, and vocalist on 2014 album releases by Ulysses Owens Jr., as well as a fierce scat battle with Mike Dease & Wycliffe Gordon on Dease’s big band record.

Currently living in NYC, he has had the opportunity to perform as both a leader and sought- after sideman at some of the finest jazz clubs including The Blue Note, Birdland, SMOKE, Small’s, The Bar Next Door, The Iridium, The Jazz Gallery, The 55 Bar, Cornelia St. Cafe, and frequently leads his band playing at Jazz @ Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. As a clinician, he leads his band giving outreach performances for Jazz @ Lincoln Center’s “Jazz For Young People” program, as well as on behalf of the NY Pops and the Jazz Museum of Harlem.

“There’s no greater fear for a musician than the safety of their instrument when traveling. Since my first Torpedo Bag years ago, I never had to think twice when my horn went under a bus, was gate checked, or stuffed in a crowded trunk. Now with the Chuckwalla & Sidewinder, my mutes and music are just as safe, and I can pack my suit for those quick weekend gigs and save a bag fee!” — Benny Benack III.

Benny traveled to the Monk Competition with his horn safe in an Outlaw.