VIDEO PREMIERE: Benny Benack III Offer Throwback Crooner’s Delight with “Third Time’s The Charm”

By age 32, 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 postbop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This duel-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation 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.

Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the impressive tune “Third Time’s the Charm,” which carries a healthy dose of Louis Armstrong-style trumpet along with easygoing crooning. This light and catchy tune finds Benny and his bandmates demonstrating their innate ability to make music that is at once from another era while also being palatable and fun for a new generation. They also showcase their musical chops without letting them get in the way of the song’s simple enjoyability. Since the tune is also the title track of the new album, the video offers the chance to see these fellas conjure up their magic when performing.

Benny describes the inspiration behind the tune:

“Third Time’s the Charm” is an easy swinging, throwback Crooner’s delight, with a dash of sparkling Louis Armstrong-inspired horn sprinkled in. The message of the song is a pat on the back encouraging us all to keep chasing our dreams, as this record coming out was a dream come true for me!”

WATCH: