Bennie Wallace

Bennie Wallace has long had his own unique style, combining together the raspy tone of Ben Webster with the frequent wide interval jumps of Eric Dolphy. He has an explorative style that sound-wise looks back toward the swing era. Wallace started on clarinet when he was 12 and a few years later switched to tenor. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1968, and in 1971 moved to New York, where he debuted with Monty Alexander. Wallace gigged with Sheila Jordan, played with many avant-garde musicians, was in George Gruntz's Concert Jazz Band in 1979, and led his own tri...