New music: ‘TigerFace’ artists hit the Windy City

The Marco Benevento Trio’s performance on Saturday, Sept. 22, personified an overarching genre amid the release of a new ‘TigerFace’ album.

It’s always been easy to distinguish between certain classes of culture: hippies, punks, beatniks, mods, rockers and ragtimers - you name it, there’s a category for it. From there, things can get a bit more complicated with sub-genres of music like proto-punks, post-wave, old school, pseudo-reggae, and cowboy jazz. Somewhere behind is something simply called music.

There’s no point in defining an artist like Marco Benevento, who painlessly delivers a display of multi-faceted, overarching melodies he churns out on his electrified Wurlitzer piano truly belonging to a musical class of his own.

The Marco Benevento Trio performed at Martyr’s on Lincoln Ave. His base of loyal supporters compared him to the likes of John Medeski, but, encountering an individual such as Marco Benevento, he simply can’t be placed in some hierarchy of similar jazz pianists.

He definitely boasts that tinge of weirdness often associated with Brian Eno with sweet, unearthly disturbances coming from his vintage Wurlitzer adorned with effect-pedals running over blankets of unstoppable rhythm. He puts himself in between the two extremes of the sit-down jazz crowd and the stand-up and dance scene, but, at Martyr’s, the whole crowd was dancing.

His fans’ support also comes from their confidence in him to provide a whole evening of entertainment with special guests. This time, Benevento’s respected caravan included the Mike Dillon Band from New Orleans.

It provided an interesting soundscape of vibraphones, horns and an interlocked bass and percussion section, ranging from the heaviest crashes to billowing softness. He threw in some old school rap in there, too, to contradict the clamor of a full-piece jazz ensemble.

While Benevento’s out on the road promoting his new album across the country, he hasn’t always been of transient nature. He hails from across the bridge in New York City, when he’s off the road and plays clubs and hubs all round town.

Check out ‘TigerFace’ for free on Spotify as its instrumental ease is ideal for leveling the stress that comes with hitting those books.

Want to check out Marco Benevento’s new tunes? Take a listen and tweet us your reviews at @RUTORCH