Spotlight on Russell Bennett

Every Big Band is only as good as it's lead trumpet player and we have the absolute best in Russell Bennett. Stylish, swinging and with 'chops of steel' as they say! Always ready with a smile and a joke to cheer up even the weariest band leader - he's a real star!

1. Tell me about the first time you performed in public?
My first performance in public was in my local brass band, Brackley and District band and it was at a band member and family friend's wedding. I would’ve been around 7 or 8 and even got paid in Lego. That’s when I knew it was for me.

2. What do you enjoy most about being in the LP Orchestra?
Opportunities are pretty rare to be able to play this style of music in this setting these days.  It’s a real treat to be able share the stage with some of the best musicians around bringing this genre of jazz to life with genuine style and authenticity. 

3. What would your three albums on your desert island be?
 It’s nigh on impossible to choose just three desert island albums. They change every day depending on where I am and what mood I’m in. My first pick though would have to be 'Ella and Louis with the Oscar Peterson Quartet' from 1956. It never fails to put a smile on my face and 'Cheek to Cheek' from that album was my wife and I’s first dance on our wedding day so it can’t go anywhere but top of the list..for my marriages sake. 

Listen to 'Cheek to Cheek' 
     
 As it was the first big band album that I was introduced to when I was 9, I’d have to include 'We Are In Love' by Harry Connick Jnr and his big band. It’s got a great mix of roaring big band charts and beautiful orchestral writing. Russell Malone's guitar solo on its 'Alright With Me' is one of those I go back to over and over again. The whole album has got everything that you’d need for any situation when you’re stuck on a desert island. 

Listen to 'We are In Love'

I’d also have to go with anything involving Clifford Brown, one of my trumpet playing heroes. The 1954 album with Max Roach is one of those iconic albums that amazes me every time I hear it. Clifford was 24 when he recorded this album which is mind blowing in itself. His technique and improvisatory language belies his age and I’ve always loved the way he can so effortlessly tell a story through every one of his solos. 

Listen to Clifford Brown and Max Roach


4. Can you tell me one thing about you that you think our LP family might not know?
 I won a cricket trophy and got my picture in the local paper when I was a teenager without touching a cricket ball once.


 - I think we need to know much more about this story! :) (Georgina)