Carles Benavent (born 1 March 1954) is a Catalan

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low bra ...

Biography

Benavent was born in the Poble Sec neighborhood in Barcelona. He started playing the bass when he was thirteen years old, attracted by blues and rock,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

in particular. A totally self-taught jazz bassist, he founded the group, "Música Urbana" with which he recorded two albums. He came to create a new form of playing the electric bass "Flamenco style", using the pick to create a special type of alzapúa (style of plucking the strings with the finger and pick). His preferred instrument is the fretless bass, which was pretty uncommon at the time, so he can be considered one of the fretless bass pioneers in Flamenco music. One of the hallmark pieces that first showcased his unique playing was his duet with Paco de Lucia on Paco's album ''Solo Quiero Caminar'', called "Monasterio De Sal" (Colombiana). On the same album, his use of harmonics and his groove playing on the track "Chanela" (Rumba) are reminiscent of the great jazz bassist

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

. He is one of the musicians that is sought out by

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (; 21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flamen ...

, and with the last he recorded "Paco de Lucía interpreta a Manuel de Falla". Since then the interaction between the two musicians has been consistent and fruitful, having played together for 25 years.

Injury

In 1995 he suffered a severe accident which injured his left arm, causing Benavent to rethink his future as a musician, but he recovered well. After appearing in the Jazz Festival of Getxo he started the recording of the album ''Fénix''. His career is marked by collaborations inside and outside the world of flamenco. With his playing style, intuition, rhythm and musicality, he continues to be in demand for live performances and recording sessions.

Equipment

Carles Benavent plays a Jerzy Drozd custom "Barcelona" type 4-string and 5-string basses, with a high C string instead of standard low B. Instead of sounding lower as is usual among five-string bass players, Benavent uses it higher to do chords and have a piccolo bass, being towards guitar.

Discography

Màquina! Màquina! (also ''Máquina!'') was a Spanish prog rock and psychedelic rock group from Barcelona. It was formed in 1969 and disbanded in 1972. They were pioneers of progressive rock in Catalonia and Spain and their first album ''Why?'' is widely c ...

- ''En Directo'' (1972) *

Música Urbana Musica (Latin), or La Musica (Italian) or Música (Portuguese and Spanish) may refer to: Music Albums * ''Musica è'', a mini album by Italian funk singer Eros Ramazzotti 1988 * ''Musica'', an album by Ghaleb 2005 * ), a German album by Giova ...

- ''Música Urbana'' (1976) *

- ''Iberia'' (1978) *

Paco de Lucía Sextet The Paco de Lucía Sextet is a flamenco music sextet, formed by guitarist Paco de Lucía and other musicians. The band has released three albums. In 1990 Paco de Lucia released Zyryab, an album made with his sextet and also featuring jazz pianist ...

- '' Sólo quiero caminar'' (1981) *

- '' Touchstone'' (1982) *

- '' Again and Again'' (1983) *

Camarón de la Isla José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla, was a Spanish Romani flamenco singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations with Pa ...

- '' Calle Real'' (1983) *

- ''Viviré'' (1984) *

- '' Live... One Summer Night'' (1984) *

- ''Soy Gitano'' (1989) *

Carmen Linares Carmen Pacheco Rodríguez (Born in 1951 in Linares, Jaén), better known by her stage name Carmen Linares, is a Spanish flamenco singer. She belongs to the best generation of flamenco artists with Paco de Lucía, Camarón, Enrique Morente, ...

- ''La luna en el río'' (1991) *

- ''Potro de Rabia y Miel'' (1992) *

- ''

Live in América ''Live in América'' is a live album by Paco de Lucía Sextet, the band formed by famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. Track listing # "Mi Niño Curro (Rondeña)" – 8:31 # "La Barrosa (Alegría)" – 4:56 # "Alcázar de Sevilla ( Bulerí ...

'' (1993) *

Diego Carrasco Diego Carrasco (born in 1954 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain) is a Spanish flamenco guitar player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San Jos ...

- ''Voz de referencia'' (1993) *

Nguyên Lê Nguyên Lê (Vietnamese: ''Lê Thành Nguyên''; born 14 January 1959) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays bass guitar and guitar synthesizer. He has released albums ...

- ''Bakida'' (2000) *

Carles Benavent & Josemi Carmona Carles () is a common Catalan given name of Germanic origin, which also appears as a surname. The English language equivalent is Charles. The name Carles can refer to: People *Carles (name) Places *Carles, Iloilo, a 2nd class municipality in th ...

- ''Sumando'' (2006) *

- ''

The Ultimate Adventure ''The Ultimate Adventure'' is an album recorded by Chick Corea and released in 2006. Like his 2004 album '' To the Stars'', ''The Ultimate Adventure'' is a musical tribute to the work of science fiction author and Scientology founder L. Ron Hub ...

'' (2006) * Quartet (2009, bebyne records) * Un, Dos, Tres... (2011, bebyne records) * Iñaki Sandoval - ''Electric Trio Live'' (bebyne records, 2015)

References

External links

Official Website

FW - Carles Benavent

Personal Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benavent, Carles 1954 births Living people Jazz bass guitarists