By Zoe Howard
Executive Features Editor
Costa alumnus David Benoit started his career playing in the Battle of the Bands at Live Oak Park but now conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic and received a lifetime Achievement Award from the American Smooth Jazz Awards.
Benoit graduated from Costa in 1971 and went on to become a pianist, composer and producer. He has been nominated for three Grammys and has released over 30 albums. Benoit started playing the piano at about 6 years old and then began lessons at 13.
“Before I moved to Hermosa Beach when I was a little kid, we lived in Bakersfield,” Benoit said. “I watched my mom play [the piano,] so I got interested. My dad was a jazz guitarist, so I always liked to sit in with him at the rehearsal and watch the musicians play, and so that really got me interested in music.”
During Benoit’s time at Costa, he was part of La Vista staff where he reviewed record albums and wrote about music, such as one of his articles titled ‘Jazz joins rock scene with liberalized forms.’ He also participated in Drama Club and a band named Tom Jones that wrote original music for school plays.
“One of the important moments for me was [when] a teacher believed in me, and that’s [drama teacher] Sherlyn Smith,” Benoit said. “She saw some talent early on when I was a junior in high school, and so she really nurtured that talent and said ‘I believe in you; let’s do some music together.’”
Composer Henry Mancini was a big inspiration to Beniot. At Costa, there were many musicians that Benoit looked up to, such as Karl Grossman, who now owns Music Focus in Hermosa Beach.
“I looked up to those guys and became friends with them,” Benoit said. “There’s been a lot of influences within high school. You meet other musicians and get together in someone’s garage and have jam sessions. Those are all people I met at Mira Costa, so I think between the student body and some of the teachers that really saw some early talent, it really helped shape where I am today [in my career].”
According to Benoit, he was very anxious when getting into the music industry. When he was 18, he moved to a Hollywood apartment and started playing at different gigs and going to the Musicians’ Union. He released his first album, “Heavier than Yesterday,” in 1977 after working as a musical director and conductor for singer Lainie Kazan.
“I think that was important to just get exposure and get established as a musician,” Benoit said. “I learned the old fashion way. The way a lot of guys did it was apprentice working with other musicians– learn as you go and that’s what I did.”
Since COVID-19 hit, Benoit has not been able to play in any live concerts. However, he has done many virtual concerts on YouTube and Facebook. He also hosts a morning radio show on KJAZZ 88.1 every weekday from 6 to 10 a.m.
“I miss everything about [performing],” Benoit said. “I miss the direct communication with the audience more than anything. I miss that feedback, and you play a good solo, and you get some nice applause that standing ovation that you hope you’re going to get at the end of the concert or that encore that’s all gone.”
Benoit has been hosting his radio show from home. People interested in pursuing music can do so from home during these times thanks to technology, according to Benoit.
“My advice if you’re musical and you’re a player would be to really learn about all the technical aspects of music and the options that are available on the internet,” Benoit said.
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