User:Eli Bennett
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At age 17, award-winning tenor saxophonist and composer Eli Bennett is recognized as one of the finest student saxophonists in North America and currently resides in Vancouver, Canada. He has been honored to perform with music legends Oscar Peterson, Barry Harris, Hank Jones, Irma Thomas, and Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Over the course of 2006, Eli has been invited to travel, perform, and record with some outstanding musicians. The Recording Academy hosting February's GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles selected Eli to perform with the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble, playing first tenor with the top student musicians across North America. The band performed at GRAMMY events such as the GRAMMY Salute to Jazz held at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, the New Orleans Rising concert, the GRAMMY Nominee Reception at Beverly Hills' Wilshire Ebell Theater, and the GRAMMY Post Party Celebration held at Staples Centre immediately following the GRAMMY Awards telecast. In addition, the band also performed at the Vic Jazz Club, Spaghettini's Jazz Club, and recorded at Capital Recording Studios in Hollywood.
Ottawa's June/July 2006 International Jazz Festival invited Eli along with six other Canadian musicians to perform with the CBC Galaxie Rising Stars, where they opened for piano legend McCoy Tyner.
The following month of August, Eli was invited to perform at the 30th Annual Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado with the Telluride Jazz All-Stars, selected across North America. The prestigious group featured original compositions which included Eli's Mistaken Perception and was recorded at the main stage performance.
Previous to that, the year 2005 also gave Eli the opportunity to play in the Canadian Musicfest Yamaha All-Star Jazz Big Band where he was honored with the Rico Golden Reed Award as the finest student saxophonist in Canada. In addition, he was also awarded other awards and scholarships at the festival.
The June/July 2005 Vancouver International Jazz Festival invited Eli to perform with the TD Canada Trust High School Jazz Intensive. Not long after, the September All-Canadian Jazz Festival held in Port Hope Ontario, invited Eli to perform with the six most outstanding student musicians of the year with the TD Canada Trust Young Jazz Showcase. The band made numerous festival appearances and was dubbed the hit of the festival. Eli will perform again at this year's All-Canadian Jazz festival, September 2006.
In addition, Eli performs and tours regularly in front of sold out audiences with the hit band "Five Alarm Funk," a twelve-piece funk band that has recently released their debut album nationally on Warner Music Canada. He has also been featured on many TV and radio shows including Global News, World Beats, Urban Rush, CFJC News and CBC radio as well as the Georgia Straight, Vancouver Province, and Vancouver Courier newspapers. Currently, Eli studies with saxophone master Stan Karp.
Website: http://www.elibennett.com
