Benny Benack III: The Magic of Manhattan

By age 31, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also asinger witha sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standardsand his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. His dual talents were recognized by Downbeat magazine in 2022 where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist but also a top Rising Star Trumpeter in their critics’ poll. Now in 2024, Benny was voted the #1 Rising Star Male Jazz Vocalist and #8 Rising Star Trumpeter. His superbintonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well. 

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father, Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. Benny, Sr. hailed from a Pittsburgh lineage that also produced Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, and so many more. He recorded the Pittsburgh Pirates’1960 theme song “Beat ’Em Bucs” and toured with Tommy Dorsey and Raymond Scott, among others. Benny III returns to Pittsburgh often to perform, saluting his family forebears and the jazz heritage as a whole, nonetheless staking his bold and highly individual artistic claim. He is an endorsing artist with Torpedo Bags cases, CarolBrass flugelhorns, as well as various menswear fashion lines, including X-Suit, Alain Dupetit, Proper Cloth & Vittone.