Keith Bennett

Often when one pays homage to one thing or another, they bring out their
very best, from the very deepest parts of their heart. Such is the case with
Keith Bennett's newest masterpiece, "Jumpin' At The Yale". In "Jumpin' At
The Yale", Keith, with his extraordinary band, has created the best Canadian
Soulful Blues release, thus far, in 2008.


Consisting of 10 Tracks, 8 of which are amazing covers of songs by BB King,
Marvin Gaye, Taj Mahal, Ray Charles, Jimmie Read, Randy Crawford,
Yellowjackets, and John Mayall, "Jumpin' At The Yale" shows us all, just how
versatile and resilient an artist Keith Bennett is. Keith's 2 originals,
"Jumpin' At The Yale", which he co-wrote with Howard Abel, and "Blackness
and Blues", are pure vintage style Keith Bennett with his harmonica jumping
in to take center stage, always at the perfect time.

When Keith Bennett decided to do "Jumpin' At The Yale", there is no doubt in
my mind that his mind was made up he was going to surround himself with the
best talent he knew for the project, and he did just that with Howard Abel
(Rhythm & Lead Electric Guitars), Bill Sample (Keyboards), Rob Marr (Bass),
and everyone's favorite drummer Jerry Adolphe.
"Jumpin' At The Yale" is done at a nice leisurely jamming pace, with most of
the songs hitting well over 5 minutes and "What's Going On", topping them
all at nearly 9 minutes.

"Jumpin' At The Yale" is a solid example of the supreme talent that Canada
has when it comes to music, especially those Soulful Blues.

I give this Album 5 out of 5 Stars... My Highest Rating... - Blues Underground Network

Last summer, a version of

Bennett's band performed a

Couple of sets of covers that

Were remarkable for the

 range and versatility. Add a

couple of Bennett originals

and some sophisticated

playing and voila, there is a

blend of blues(Big Boss Man,

 Room To Move, soul

 (What's Going On) and jazz

(Revelation) with Bennett's

harmonica leading the way.

Jerry Adolphe's production

Is simple, doing little more

than emphasizing the musici-

cianship. If there is one

criticism, it's that the pro-

duction is too tidy. There

isn't much atmosphere making

the title of the CD a misnomer.

- Tom Harrison

- The Province TUESDAY DECEMBER 16 2008

JUMPIN AT THE YALE The Keith Bennett Band (self released) ***

The latest from one of the mainstays of the Lower Mainland¹s blues scene is
a collection of (mostly) cover songs that any blues fan will yea, dig
verily.


The title of this disc is a tip of the hat to The Yale Hotel, a blues room
in Vancouver where many of the big names have played, and where The Keith
Bennett Band has gigged regularly over the past six years. When rumors of
the closing of this prominent musical attraction began to surface recently,
it seemed only natural to retain an audio snapshot of my time there notes
Keith on his website (www.keith-bennett.com). This recording is what we
sounded like there on any given night.


On Jumpin the KBB covers songs made famous by BB King, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy
Reed, Taj Mahal, Ray Charles, John Mayall and more. There also a couple of
originals; the title track, and Blackness and Blues, which closes out the
disc.



I expected the sound here to be rough around the edges in keeping with my
mind¹s image of The Yale (yeah, I've been there a few times) but Jumpin' At
The Yale is smooth, almost jazzy at times, a cross between Powder Blues and
The Downchild Blues Band- probably closer to Downchild. All in all, this is
a pretty sweet set.



KEY CUTS: Jumpin' At The Yale, What's Goin On, Blackness and Blues

John Kereiff - Rossland Radio