REVIEW: Genre-defying trio delivers

PLAINS TWP. — If you ever watch the Marco Benevento Trio perform, here’s some advice: Don’t waste your time trying to figure out what genre you’re listening to. Just enjoy the music.

Last Friday, the Brooklyn-based pianist Benevento, bassist Reed Mathis and fill-in drummer Andrew Borger played an experimental set of instrumental music at the River Street Jazz Caf� that was too heavy to be considered jazz and too hip and urban to be called jam rock. Benevento, playing a piano and a keyboard run through an array of effects pedals, would often start a song with a scratchy percussive sample before working with his bandmates to add more layers. Borger, who has played with Tom Waits, Norah Jones and Ani DiFranco, was impressive, laying out heavy beats, big cymbal accents and locking in with Mathis to form a rock-solid foundation for Benevento’s forays.

There’s no doubt Benevento is a master of the piano, but the object of his band is not to show off his skills as a player. Rarely did he play a jaw-dropping solo Friday. Instead, he created atmospheric soundscapes with smart syncopation and a system of effects that often rendered his piano sound unrecognizable.

Playing to a sizable crowd, the Benevento Trio played an intelligent yet danceable brand of rock-oriented songs that despite their lack of vocals had an emotional impact, thanks in part to the lyrical feel of Benevento’s playing. The band also avoided pointless jams, which might come as a surprise to some listeners, considering Benevento’s association with Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon.

In 2009, Benevento, known as one-half on the Benevento-Russo Duo, released the highly regarded solo album “Me, Not Me,” a collection of mostly cover songs. One of the highlights of Friday’s show was one of those tunes: “Golden” by My Morning Jacket. Like all great cover songs, it retained the vibe of the original while adding some new twists. Benevento triggered a calypso drum sample and played a wistful piano lead while images of a tour van crossing a bridge were projected behind the stage. The set closer, too, was a tweaked-out version of another artist’s song, The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” The verses took major liberties while the choruses stayed true to the classic selection, besides Benevento not including the “I’ll never dance with another” line until the final chorus.

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