Chris Bennett is, today, a name synonymous with the international
success and commercial appeal of the southern California contemporary
jazz music scene. With six jazz CDs to her credit and a seventh to be
released in the fall of 2005, she has secured a revered place as one of
an intimate handful of successors to
Peggy Lee,
June Christy, Anita O'Day and the classic
American female jazz vocalists. At times a stylist and, more often, the
singer of self-composed music and lyrics, she is always a genuine
artist in performance. A lifetime of entertaining combined with a
disciplined regimen of daily practice and consistent training is
evident in masterful live performances and perfect studio recordings.
Like songbirds Helen Morgan, June
Christy and Anita O'Day, Bennett is
originally from Illinois, where she grew up on a musical diet of Big
Band melodies and Broadway show tunes. A love of performing lead to a
passion for dance and, while in high school, she opened a dance studio
at the age of 16. Bennett chassed her way through college majoring in
dance performance and, soon after, pirouetted to graduate school in
California where she developed her greatest movements; of the lips and
the vocal chords. With a dancer's skills and a vocalist's talent,
Bennett was selected by Jim Nabors to join
his Las Vegas revue which eventually toured cross-country. Performing
on stage every night in new venues, playing to fresh audiences in
different cities, Bennett gained the confidence and experience of a
seasoned professional. Soon, she would go on tour to headline her own
shows across the globe. From choreographing her dancers to selecting
the repertoire of her band, Bennett incorporated contemporary pop
covers and jazz standards in her shows. She also cultivated a new
passion: songwriting.
By her mid-twenties, Bennett was already a well traveled woman and,
certainly, a vocalist of the world. While on tour in Germany, she was
scouted and hand picked by multi-Grammy and multi-Academy Award winning
composer/producer Giorgio Moroder to
join the popular disco group Munich Machine. He chose Bennett to be the
lead vocalist for their sophomore album which would contain a dance
version of the Procol Harum rock classic "A
Whiter Shade of Pale." Bennett not only recorded the entire album, she
also posed for the groundbreaking cover art; entirely naked. Bennett's
runway model's body and movie star looks caused an international
sensation and made for one of the highest charting and highest grossing
disco albums of 1978.
A full fledged dance music diva under the guidance of Moroder, Bennett
was signed to Casablanca Records as a songwriter and recording artist.
She recorded as one half of 'Giorgio & Chris' for the only duet album
of Moroder's entire career, "Love's In You, Love's In Me." Her
distinctly clear voice and high range also backed up some of
Donna Summer's biggest hits, most notably
the number one pop hit and Grammy-nominated single "MacArthur Park,"
the certified Gold single "Heaven Knows" and the number one certified
Platinum "Live & More" album. Bennett again made international
headlines when the song she co-wrote and sang as the theme from
12 Uhr nachts - Midnight Express (1978) was
nominated for a Grammy.
By the 1980s, Chris Bennett had established herself as a successful
singer, songwriter and producer, occasionally singing back-up for
Rita Coolidge and
Johnny Mathis. Her songs were being
recorded by the likes of Tina Turner and
The Manhattan Transfer. She
co-wrote and co-produced for
The Three Degrees, the final Munich
Machine album "Body Shine" and the Suzi Lane album "Ooh La La." She
also played a key role in producing for and writing with up-and-coming
Grammy-award winning Blues artist 'Keb' Mo'.
By the 1990s, Bennett reflected on her career as an accomplished
singer, noteworthy producer and popular songwriter. Having performed
for others behind the scenes primarily throughout the 1980s, she made a
promise to return to the recording studio and the concert stage, this
time, for herself. It would also be a return to her first musical love:
jazz.
A self titled CD release in 1993 marked the welcomed return of Chris
Bennett as lead vocalist. Utilizing the talents of celebrity musicians
and introducing new artists, Bennett specialized in creating a musical
experience of self composed pieces, some jazz classics and a
contemporary cover or two. The success of her debut jazz CD let to a
series of future releases that capitalized on this combination. Jazz
magazines critically praised her, noting "after a successful career as
a background performer, it is a pleasure to welcome Chris Bennett to
center stage."
Since then, Bennett has been a staple of Smooth Jazz radio programming
everywhere. The success of her concerts, CD sales and consistent
critical triumphs have led to sold-out performances throughout Europe,
New York supper clubs and Chicago cabarets. At home in Los Angeles, she
continues to be a popular artist and regular club favorite.
Presently, Chris Bennett has six CDs available which include a
Christmas Jazz CD, a Latin Jazz CD, and an import-only live CD released
in 2004. A humanitarian of the first order, she has also co-written and
recorded a song in memory of the Holocaust survivors ("Remember"), as
well as a song in support of gay marriage ("Everybody Has the Right").
She has recently finished the music and lyrics of a Broadway play and
will release her seventh CD (a Broadway jazz affair) in 2005.
