The Benevento/Russo Duo, a group with too much name and too little publicity, brought its unique style of "jazz" to the Memorial Union Tuesday night. In spite of relatively little hype, the pair packed the Rathskeller with an excited crowd of students taking advantage of the free show.
Although their 2005 album Best Reason to Buy the Sun is classified as jazz, the term doesn't give them enough credit. The Duo's eclectic mix of sounds includes just as much fusion, electronica and noise-rock as jazz.
During a set that featured most of the tracks off Best Reason, they took the sweaty crowd to new heights with soaring melodies and hammering beats. The volume was earsplitting at times, but the music was good throughout.
The driving force behind the Duo's music is the orgasmic organ sound provided by Marco Benevento, who has the simultaneous ability to draw ethereal, airy melodies or cascading torrents of noise from his instrument. Benevento flawlessly executed an intriguing mix of jumping basslines, fat chords and screaming one-note lines.
Benevento's use of distorted organ was reminiscent of Robert Randolph's wailing steel lap guitar, an amped-up version of a classic sound. His organ and keyboard textures touched on everything from the New Orleans jazz of Dr. John to the synthesized, overdriven bass sounds of Death From Above 1979. He also employed a wide variety of effects, including musical childrens' toys, to keep the music interesting.
Drummer Joe Russo has similar talent, especially in the live setting. He pounded the skins with energy completely alien to the normally subdued mood of jazz-influenced music, all the while retaining a sense of nuance in his playing.
The audience was ready for a party and the Duo had no problem giving them one. The thick slabs of organ chords and tight rhythms kept everyone moving and grooving.
It also helped that Benevento and Russo did a bit of partying of their own, with Benevento using the lone vocal mic for the purpose of requesting beer. "Thank you students, thank you students," the tipsy organist told the rowdy crowd with a wry smile midway through.
Many of the standout songs were off Best Reason, a fantastic album in its own right. The gloomy funk of "Becky" was a crowd-pleaser, with the Duo jamming over a electronic percussion riff that would have sounded at home on Radiohead's Kid A. Benevento got a chance to show off, scrambling over a bassline as quick as a Jaco Pastorius tune while droning on a whacked-out organ melody.
The album also features several slower grooves that weren't emphasized during the show. "The Three Question Marks," a jazzy, hypnotic groove that channels the spirit of Thelonius Monk, is a piano-driven jazz jam that gradually works up to a wash of sounds. Following a drum solo, the group adds electric guitar squiggles to a new offbeat piano line, before ending the song with a section of abrasive noise.
Some great album tracks just didn't translate as well into the Duo's live act. "My Pet Goat" is a highly electronic change of pace on the album, but the Duo relied too much on recorded sounds to reproduce it live. They didn't exactly pull a Milli Vanilli, but the pair should have come up with a version better for the live setting.
Another disappointment was the lack of an encore. After a stunning show, the lights came up as the Duo left the stage, leaving the audience to wander off unsatisfied.
Nevertheless, the group proved that they can combine jazz, rock and electronica better than anyone else out there. Despite the lackluster name, the Benevento/Russo Duo have come up with a truly unique sound.
