Great new album from Marco
Sam P. Robertson | 05/22/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Over the past few years, Marco Benevento has created some of the most interesting music out there with the Benevento/Russo duo, Garage A Trois, and his own trio. With his new album, Between the Needles & Nightfall, Benevento continues to create music that is exploratory and refreshing. More than anything, the album represents a further refining and expanding of the sound that he began to explore on his first album with this trio, Invisible Baby. For those who feel the need to categorize music, I suppose it would fall under experimental jazz, but that label is unfair to Marco. Although the music is instrumental and adventures, these are structured songs. Benevento combines incredible improvisational skills with a Paul McCartney-like sense of melody, creating a sound that is melodic, but also experimental, modern-sounding, and completely unique.
On Between Needles and Nightfall, Benevento is joined by his usual trio, which features Reed Mathis on bass and Andrew Barr on drums. This is the trio's third album together, and the band members have developed a strong chemistry. As a result the music sounds extraordinarily cohesive and flowing, with each track even seeming to segue flawlessly into the next. The songs are atmospheric and unusual, yet catchy, and Between Needles and Nighfall is one of the most listenable instrumental albums that I have ever heard. Greenpoint, Between the Needles, and Two Of You are my personal favorites."