"a powerful blend of music that is both emotionally raw and sonically grooving"  

Tunite Music read review

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"exceptionally gifted pianist"  

Simon Redley, Music Republic Magazine read review

 

"he's charting the future as mightily as Miles Davis did in the 70s" Midwest Record read review

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"joyful ivories...clever and original"  Jazz Weekly read review 

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"full of spirit'n'soul...mesmerising" "With the saxophones it is also has the same drive as a more considered Afrobeat, but in places coupled with Ellingtonian and flickering Mingus-bop . . . then free flourishes." Graham Reid read review 

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"there is a flawless musicianship running through everything, especially in the melodic department; matched in intensity by deeply-felt emotions."  JazzdaGama read review

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"a wonderfully frenetic merger of Eastern and Western strains...engagingly esoteric, but downright catchy songs"

Rochester City Newspaper  read review

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"an attractive combination of Eastern melodic structures and a zesty jazz that sometimes steps on the avant-garde zone"

JazzTrail read review

 

"hypnotic..That’s what makes it so interesting when those cascading Indian patterns known as ragas are played on a very Western instrument: the piano. Pianist Richard X Bennett has been doing this for years, and to striking effect" John Schaefer, WNYC

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"adds a jazzy harmonic dimension to Indian ragas' horizontally inclined structure. It often evokes the focused ferocity of the singers of Hindustani music" Village Voice "The Ten Best Concerts in New York This Weekend"

 

"full of moments of lyricism, drama and decoration." World Music Report read review

 

"The music hangs together with a kind of brilliance. Surely this is one of the most successful endeavors in this realm I have heard in a long time. It has a real South Asian feel to it but then is very New York , too" Gapplegate Music Review read review

 

"truly a marvelous work... Bennett’s capacities in blending jazz and raga have evolved to a very sophisticated level. He has truly found a way to blend jazz and raga in a way that does not produce a mere hybrid. In this recording, jazz and raga have become one."

DBD NY  read review  

 

" Richard Bennett Reinvents Ragas. Pianist Richard X Bennett tackles that challenge with passion and precision on his album New York City Swara. The highlight of the album, a triumph of terseness and taste for Bennett, is the increasingly menacing, Satie-esque, staccato nocturnal theme that follows."  New York Music Daily read review

 

"a raga man plays the Hurricane Sandy blues" 

Public Radio International listen to profile

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"This unexpectedly delightful album is pleasingly hard to pigeonhole: a classically trained New York pianist inspired by the classical music of India... ...this is music with a wide sonic and emotional reach. ... the more obviously Indian-influenced pieces...  are uniformly impressive, different, interesting and frequently transporting.This is quite a journey Bennett has been on, and you really should join him on the ride of discovery." Graham Reid  read review

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"Mysterious, enchanting piano" Independent Clauses  read review

 

WNYC - New Sounds  listen to radio show

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Paradigms Podcast  listen here

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for DownBeat press click here