Eli Bennett (born March 9, 1989) is a Canadian

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

-nominated

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 ...

saxophonist and

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

-winning film composer. He has composed more than twenty film scores and in 2018 received his first Leo Award for Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Documentary for the film ''Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas.'' He was also awarded the

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

from the Premier of BC for his contribution to the arts in Canada. He is married to violinist and vocalist

Rosemary Siemens Rosemary Joy Siemens is a Canadian violinist and vocalist originally from Plum Coulee, Manitoba. She has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, four times at St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, four times at Carnegie Hall, for two U.S. presidents an ...

with whom he records and performs with their instrumental duo SaxAndViolin and in 2019 they performed together at The Vatican.

Biography

Early life

Bennett was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada as the firstborn son of Canadian composer, cellist, and

Powder Blues Band The Powder Blues Band is a Canadian musical band formed in 1978 in Vancouver. Its first album ''Uncut'' went double platinum in Canada. The second album ''Thirsty Ears'' was similarly popular. Their best known songs include: "Boppin' with the Blu ...

drummer Daryl Bennett. Bennett grew up listening to his father's film scores in his studio and was introduced to the alto saxophone through his father at age 11. At age 13, Bennett switched to the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

and began accompanying his father on gigs at Vancouver's iconic blues bar The Yale, where he shared the stage every Monday night with local blues musicians.

Career

In 2006, Bennett was selected as a member of the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Band and performed at

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

events in Los Angeles such as the Grammy Nominee Celebration, Grammy Celebration After Party and the Grammy Salute to Jazz where he performed with

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Influenced by Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, Harris in turn influenc ...

and

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

. He was selected again in 2007 as a member of the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Combo and shared the stage with

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

and James Moody at the Grammy Salute to Jazz. In 2006, Bennett opened for

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

at the Telluride Jazz Festival and for

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

at the

Ottawa International Jazz Festival The Ottawa Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada. It showcases a wide range of jazz genres, including swing, jive, fusion jazz, hot jazz, boogie as well as diverse cultures and traditions. The festival claims to brin ...

where he was awarded the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award. In 2007, Bennett was awarded a full scholarship to study music at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...

in Toronto where he studied with saxophonists Pat LaBarbara, Kirk McDonald and shared the stage with Chris Potter,

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He has also written two operas and more than 80 film and television scores. Blanchard has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Original Score for ''B ...

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

and

Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...

. After graduating from Humber College in 2011, Bennett returned to Vancouver to apprentice with his father as a film composer. Alongside his father, he composed additional music for the films ''Nash'', ''The Exhibition'', and co-composed the score for ''Take Back Your Power,'' and '' Human Harvest.'' His original score for ''Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas'' won a 2018 Leo Award for Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Documentary as well as a

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Foundation Award. He also composed and performed music on an episode of the TV show '' Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman.'' Bennett released his debut album ''Breakthrough'' in 2014 on Addo Records (distributed by

Universal Music Canada Universal Music Group (UMG) owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to the UMG official website, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Gra ...

) and re-released independently in 2016. The album was named No. 4 Top debut album by the

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

and received a

Western Canadian Music Award The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) is an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Brit ...

nomination for Best Jazz Album. In 2015, Bennett was nominated for the TD Grand Jazz Award by the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

where he performed with his quartet as part of his Canadian Breakthrough Tour. He also performed at the

Vancouver International Jazz Festival The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is a jazz festival held every summer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The festival grew out of a local jazz scene that centred on Vancouver Co-op Radio (CFRO-FM), a community radio station, in the ...

, Calgary Jazz Festival, Medicine Hat Jazz Festival,

Ottawa Jazz Festival The Ottawa Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada. It showcases a wide range of jazz genres, including swing, jive, fusion jazz, hot jazz, boogie as well as diverse cultures and traditions. The festival claims to brin ...

and

Toronto Jazz Festival The Toronto Jazz Festival is a jazz event in Toronto which takes place for 10 days in late June through early July. Like the Beaches International Jazz Festival, most of the events are outdoors and located throughout the downtown core. The hub of th ...

. The album received significant international radio play, including regular play on

CBC Radio Canada CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

Stingray Music Stingray Music is a Canada-based international multi-platform audio service that broadcasts continuous streaming music and other forms of audio on multiple channel feeds. The service is owned by Stingray Digital. It was originally founded in 1 ...

, and JAZZ.FM91. In 2017, Bennett was named 35 best Canadian jazz artists under 35 by

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

and described as "...one of the most underrated instrumentalists in jazz today. The greatest aspect of this virtuoso musician is his chameleon-like ability to master funk, soulful music, bebop, modal jazz and all styles in between while keeping his distinctive sound." In 2018, he earned a

nomination alongside Five Alarm Funk for his work on the album ''Sweat''.

SaxAndViolin

Bennett's instrumental duo SaxAndViolin, featuring Bennett on saxophone and his wife

on violin, released their debut album on Valentine's Day, 2020, entitled '' Can't Help Falling in Love (Instrumental Love Songs), Vol. 1'' featuring instrumental love songs that inspired their love story. The album charted No. 3 on the Canadian iTunes Pop Chart and their cover of

Lauren Daigle Lauren Ashley Daigle ( ; born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, ''How Can It Be (album), How Can It Be,'' in 2015 ...

's song "

You Say "You Say" is a song by American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter Lauren Daigle. It is the lead single from her third studio album, ''Look Up Child''. Written by Daigle alongside producers Paul Mabury and Jason Ingram, it was re ...

" won a 2020

Covenant Award The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Ca ...

for Instrumental Song of the Year.

Leo Awards Musical Director

In 2017, the

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

announced that Bennett would replace Hal Beckett as

Musical Director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

for the

. Each year, Bennett directs the live band for the Leo Awards show including the show's opening production and in-show music. Bennett is a Leo Award winner and a five-time nominee for his work as a composer.

Instruments

Bennett has played a

Selmer Mark VI The Selmer Mark VI is a saxophone produced from 1954 to 1981. Production shifted to the Mark VII for the tenor and alto in the mid-1970s, and to the Super Action 80 for the soprano and baritone saxophones in 1981. The sopranino saw limited pr ...

exclusively since 2007 along with D'Addario Woodwinds Royal reeds since 2004.

Publications

In 2012, Bennett created his own publishing company, Eli Bennett Publishing, and released his first transcription

eBook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

entitled ''Chris Potter Plays Acapella Solo Standards.'' The eBook featured eleven solos over jazz standards performed by award-winning jazz saxophonist Chris Potter.

Personal life

On March 18, 2017, while on separate Canadian tours, Bennett proposed to his girlfriend, violinist Rosemary Siemens, by interrupting her concert in Gretna, Manitoba, by entering through the back of Buhler Hall, playing

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

's "

Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-� ...

" on his saxophone. Once on stage, Bennett got down on one knee and proposed to Siemens in front of the entire audience. She said yes, and the couple were wed later that year on August 20, 2017, in a public wedding ceremony in

Plum Coulee Plum Coulee is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Rhineland within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It is west of Altona, one hour southwest of Winnipeg and 22 kilometres fr ...

, Manitoba. In September 2018, the couple welcomed their first son, Theodore Parker Bennett, into the world after keeping the pregnancy a secret. They announced the birth through a YouTube video featuring a song Siemens wrote and Bennett produced entitled "You and Me".

Awards and nominations

* 2006 CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award from the

* 2007 Yamaha Kando Award from

MusicFest Canada MusicFest Canada, originally established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival (CSBF), is a national educational music festival in Canada. It was founded in 1972 by Robert Richmond (the founding president), Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner. The CSB ...

* 2007 Oscar Peterson Grant for Jazz Performance from The Hnatyshyn Foundation * 2008 Oscar Peterson Prize from

* 2009 CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award at the Canadian National Jazz Awards * 2010 Rising Star Award from the Prince Edward County Jazz Festival * 2012 Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Music as Emerging Artist * 2012

for Best Musical Score in a Documentary Program or Series (''Nash'', nominee) * 2013

* 2013

for Best Musical Score in a Short Drama (''Reset'', nominee) * 2013

for Best Musical Score in a Short Drama (''Escape Act'', nominee) * 2014

for Best Musical Score in an Animation Program or Series (''Remedy'', nominee) * 2015 SOCAN Foundation Award for Best Musical Score Non-Fiction (''Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas,'' Second prize) * 2015 SOCAN Foundation Award for Best Musical Score Fiction (''Jobless'', Second prize) * 2015 Julian Jazz Award for Best Jazz Album from CJSF 90.1 FM * 2015 TD Grand Jazz Award from the

(nominee) * 2016 Global Music Award for Jazz Album (Silver Medal) * 2016 Fraser Valley Music Award for Best Jazz Album (''Breakthrough'', winner) * 2018

for Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Documentary (''Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas'', winner) * 2018

for Instrumental Album of the Year (Five Alarm Funk, nominee) * 2020

for Instrumental Song of the Year ( SaxAndViolin, ''You Say'', winner) * 2020 Canadian Digital Influencer Award (Entertainment category, nominee)

Selected discography

As leader or co-leader

* 2014: ''Breakthrough'' * 2016: ''Breakthrough'' (re-release) * 2020: '' Can't Help Falling in Love (Instrumental Love Songs), Vol. 1'' with SaxAndViolin

As a sideman

* 2006: ''Five Alarm Funk'' – Five Alarm Funk * 2011: ''In Transit'' – Paul Morrison * 2012: ''Once Upon a Dream -'' Roy & Rosemary * 2015: ''Footsteps'' – Gray Matter * 2016: ''Eternally Grateful'' – Warren Dean Flandez * 2016: ''Plum Coulee, My Home'' – Rosemary Siemens & The Sweet Sound Revival * 2017: ''Sweat'' – Five Alarm Funk * 2018: ''Violet, Gold + Rose'' – David Ward * 2018: ''Suite for Hard Rubber Orchestra'' –

Hard Rubber Orchestra The Hard Rubber Orchestra is a jazz band led by composer and trumpeter John Korsrud in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1990, it has a shifting membership of 15-30 musicians. It is known for spotlighting work by contemporary compose ...

References

External links

Official website

Eli Bennett discography
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Eli Canadian jazz saxophonists Canadian male saxophonists Jazz-funk saxophonists Mainstream jazz saxophonists 21st-century Canadian saxophonists Canadian male jazz musicians Jazz tenor saxophonists Canadian male film score composers 1989 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male musicians Musicians from Vancouver Canadian film score composers Canadian television composers Canadian male television composers