Born in 1977 and raised in New Jersey, multi-talented young keyboardist Marco Benevento studied piano from a young age, and graduated in 1999 from the Berklee College of Music. Influenced by a more experimental approach to jazz, he set out to try different types of keyboards such as toy pianos, Wurlitzers and glockenspiels, an unconventional versatility that made him an important figure in NYC's experimental music scene of the early 00s. With his long-time friend and collaborator, drummer Joe Russo, he formed the Benevento/Russo Duo in 2002, an innovative post-rock duo featuring only keyboards and drums. After a popular residency at NYC's Tonic, Benevento released his first solo album, the 3-CD Live at Tonic in 2007, and a fourth solo album in 2010, Between the Needles & Nightfall.