Bio

Jack Benson is a jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger based in Los Angeles and Boston. Currently a student at the USC Thornton School of Music, he studies trumpet with Michael Stever and composition with Grammy-winning composer Vince Mendoza. Benson is the recipient of a DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Arrangement and a National YoungArts Award in both Jazz Composition and Jazz Trumpet.

Deeply inspired by the sonic exploration of large ensembles, Benson has written original works and arrangements for ensembles including the Thornton Jazz Orchestra, the Beantown Swing Orchestra (six commissioned works), the USC Afro Latin-American Jazz Ensemble, and the NEC Youth Jazz Orchestra. His music has been performed at the The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, the Hatch Shell in Boston, and Brown Hall at NEC, and recorded at Evergreen Studio.

As a performer, Benson strives for emotional honesty spoken through the rhythmic languages from around the world. Benson has appeared with the Vail Jazz Workshop, Music for All Jazz Band of America, NAfME All-Eastern Jazz Band, and the Thornton Jazz Orchestra, balancing an fulfilling performance career with an expanding repertoire of compositional work.