Carles Benavent: Jazz, Flamenco and Blues

By BRUCE LINDSAY, Published: January 22, 2013

Of all the instrumentalists in contemporary music, only a handful have become game changers. Jazz trumpet has Louis Armstrong, rock guitar has Jimi Hendrix, jazz saxophone has Charlie Parker. Flamenco bass guitar has Carles Benavent. Benavent's fluid, melodic and emotive style of playing is as beautiful as it is distinctive. Developed initially from a love of the blues, his playing has, over the years, enabled him to extend his reach into rock and jazz fusion as well as flamenco. In the jazz world, he's enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with Chick Corea, and, as he puts it with characteristic modesty, he played "for 10, no 15, minutes" with Miles Davis.

Benavent was born in Barcelona in 1954. He still lives in Catalonia and gave this interview in a Barcelona restaurant, accompanied by luthier Jerzy Drodz, who designs and builds Benavent's bass guitars. Drodz was on hand to translate some of the more complex questions and answers and to contribute information about the construction and development of Benavent's instruments.

Chapter Index
The Early Years
Collaborations
The Bass Guitar
Un, Dos, Tres ...
Future Plans and Projects

The Early Years

At the age of 13, Benavent began to learn the bass guitar, deciding on that particular instrument for one simple reason. "I had a friend at school who played electric guitar, but I thought the bass would be easier because it only had four strings. That's the reason I chose the bass, really. But I started to learn by copying the playing of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix: by copying guitarists, not bass players."

This autodidactic approach resulted in the development of Benavent's individual playing style: using a pick and the fingers of his right hand to pluck the strings while his left hand moves between chords and single note patterns, in a way that is closer to that of an acoustic guitarist than a typical electric bassist. As he grew up, Benavent began to learn other styles of music, but the fundamentals of his playing technique were firmly established. "I started with the blues when I was about 13 or 14. Flamenco and jazz came later." Exposure to new musical genres even led the bassist to wish for a change in nationality: "Three or four years after the blues, I discovered Brazilian music, and I wanted to be Brazilian," he says, laughing. "I also started to play mandolin, playing Spanish and Mediterranean music—not flamenco but other styles."

Although Benavent's early influences were guitarists, one bassist did have an impact on his thinking. "I always played four-string electric bass guitar. Then I heard Jaco Pastorius. Wow! I decided to lose the frets. I first heard him on a Weather Report record. These recordings of Jaco's are just incredible; he affected everyone." Benavent's playing style remains distinct from Pastorius,' however. "We are different because I started to play by copying guitarists."

The two bassists never met, but Pastorius was aware of Benavent's playing. "A few years ago, I recorded a Pastorius tune, and I called his widow, Ingrid Pastorius, to ask permission. She said yes and told me that Jaco knew me, knew my work with Paco and [flamenco singer] Camarón De La Isla."
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