Event

Michael Benedict JAZZ VIBES

Michael is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at the State University College of New York at Potsdam where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. He later attended Rutgers University and graduated with a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies.

Michael has performed and/or recorded with jazz luminaries Gary Smulyan, Harry Allen, Dick Oatts, Steve Nelson, Sharel Cassity, Bruce Barth and Joe Locke. He has toured the United States extensively, performing at numerous concert halls, colleges, clubs and festivals and has performed in Europe. In 2012, Michael was part of a US State Department tour of Tunisia, Africa where he taught and performed with the Planet Arts Trio.

Michael is currently the leader of three ensemble; Jazz Vibes, BOPITUDE and The Gary McFarland Legacy Ensemble. He has released five recordings to date. Downbeat Magazine rated BOPITUDE Five and One as one of the Best Albums of 2013. His most recent release, Circulation: The Music of Gary McFarland, was an Editors pick in Downbeat Magazine and listed as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2015 by National Public Radio and critics Ted Gioa and Scott Yanow.

JAZZ VIBES is an ensemble featuring Michael on vibraphone, David Gleason on piano, Mike Lawrence on bass and Pete Sweeney on drums. The repertoire of the group includes straight ahead jazz standards, LatinAmerican songs and original material. Jazz Vibes has been the leading vibraphone group in the Capital Region of New York State for over a decade.

House opens at 7:30pm, performance begins at 8pm.