New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Royal Potato Family) - At the outset of 2008,
Marco Benevento took over New York City's then brand new Greenwich Village music venue, Sullivan Hall, for a month-long residency.
He would call it home for five
Thursday nights in January, inviting a who's who in modern jazz and improvisational rock music to play with him each week in a different configuration. Hauling his own baby grand piano from his Brooklyn apartment to the Sullivan Hall stage for the event, Benevento led his musical co-conspirators through two sets a night of daring and consistently breathtaking improvisations.
Whether it was the Bitches Brew-esque sonic explorations of his collaboration with Steven Bernstein, Bobby Previte and DJ Olive, the glorious post rock ferocity of a line-up with Brad Barr and Joe Russo or Benevento's own regular trio with Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr celebrating the release of their debut album Invisible Baby, every set took on a life all its own.
As the sold out crowds that gathered for each week's performance will attest, these shows were the stuff of legend in the recent history of downtown New York City's music scene.
Thankfully, director Karina Mackenzie captured all five nights on high definition video along with multi-track recordings and artist interviews that are now available on a DVD release from The Royal Potato Family entitled Live In NYC: The Sullivan Hall Residency.
While it's Marco Benevento's name at the top of the billing, what the film portrays is a family of fearless, faithful, one-of-a-kind artists making some of the most vital music of their time.
