Jazz Weekly: Richard Bennett: Some Kinda Summer

George W. Harris

April 2, 2026

One of the great unsung treasures of the guitar, Richard Bennett has made a name for himself under some great names ranging from Mark Knopfler ot Neil Diamond and Emmylou Harris. His own solo albums are just what you’d expect, unassuming collections of tasty treasures.

Some of the pieces, such as “Whistlejacket”  and “Beauty and the Beatnik” have rich vibrato a la the classic 50s classic “Sleepwalker”, while film scores that hint at Dimitri Timkin or Mancini are in musical Vistavision during the upbeat  “Our Summer Scene” and “Fortune’s Frontier”. What’s a hoot here is the trip to the Tiki Room for some Don Ho’d “Kava Keen”, and “Whistlejacket” while a hip late night rocker takes you to the Whisky Au Go Go” on “Beyond Durango”. This is the guy you want with you in your musical fox hole.