Dave Bennett

“Bennett is a player superbly well balanced between purity and power. Bennett injects
three heady shots of adrenalin that bring the music sharply to life.”
– Downbeat Magazine

Dave Bennett doesn’t fit the mold.
For starters, you don’t find many jazz clarinet players who name Alice Cooper, Stevie
Ray Vaughan, and Chris Isaak among their influences. You won’t find many musicians
who are equally conversant with the music of Benny Goodman (the “King of Swing”)
and Roy Orbison (“The Soul of Rock and Roll”). In fact, you may not find even one other
clarinet virtuoso who breaks from his Swing Era repertoire to sing rockabilly hits while
accompanying himself at the piano or electric guitar.
Dave began his national touring career at the age of 14. He has been a featured soloist
at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops (2013) and has been featured with 35 other
US and Canadian orchestras including Nashville, Houston, Detroit, Rochester, Omaha,
Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Orlando, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Portland, OR and
Portland, ME. Some of his annual appearances include The Elkhart Jazz Festival, The
Suncoast Classic Jazz Festival, The Arizona Classic Jazz Festival, The Sacramento
Hot Jazz Jubilee, The Clambake Music Festival, and The Redwood Coast Music
Festival. Dave has also opened for Sammy Hagar in Houston, TX in 2022.
Dave has been featured on NPR Radio’s “Jazz at Riverwalk.” He made his European
debut in 2008 at The Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland) in a combo with jazz legends
and Benny Goodman alumni guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and vibraphonist Peter
Appleyard. He has also shared the stage with Ken Peplowski, Byron Stripling, Marcus
Printup, Aaron Diehl, and Bria Skonberg.
He has been featured soloist on several jazz cruises, performing with Harry Allen,
Warren Vache, Allan Vache, Banu Gibson, and Tardo Hammer.