PRESS
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"Lackner may be the first established pianist to come from the Mehldau school. With a contemporary approach, he helps give the piano trio a much-needed facelift."
-John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com
“Where the BadPlus goes for the jugular on it's recordings, the Lacknerites keep it understated, a rarity for any jazz album”
-JazzTimes
Not the Same, featured funked up jazzy versions of both Hendrix and Nena. Their sophomore effort includes interpretations of Gershwin; Prince, as the deliciously funky title cut has Derek Nievergelt’s bass pumping it up; Björk, with her darkly isolative “Isobel” portrayed more organically than originally thought possible as Lackner switches between acoustic and electric; and a standard, “How About You”, injected with a huge shot of rhythmic gas by Nievergelt and drummer Robert Perkins (read full review...)
-Elliot Simon, AllAboutJazz.com
Benny Lackner Trio Lackner mixes originals, Mingus and Monk tunes, and some eclectic covers. He also blends acoustic and electronic keyboards as well as anyone, allowing Derek Nievergelt (bass) and Robert Perkins (drums) to etch out some deep dancefloor grooves.
-Gehr, The Village Voice
Lackner, through carefully chosen accents on synthesizer, elevates to bold and daring musical moments.
Even with complex patterns Perkins’ rhythms flow effortlessly and are carefully differentiated in their dynamics while never losing sight of the groove. Nievergelt’s bass lines comment upon the offerings of his partners while staying in constant communication with them.
And Lackner has mastered the art of controlling the dosage of musical ecstasy, leaving himself time and space to develop and process his themes.
The overall effect is one of tastefully jazzy collaboration, not oriented to solo skills but imparting a sense of the performers truly sharing the concert experience with the audience.
A song like “If Six Was Nine” builds from its first reserved bass motifs to wild eruptions of temperamental outbursts, whereas a contrasting piece such as “Will It Matter” could hardly be any “cooler.”
- Ralf Dombrowski
Lackner also uses Fender Rhodes and a variety of other keyboards to texturize his work
Lackner also shares a penchant for simple melodies that, while singable, are sometimes a little oddly askew also, something he no doubt learned from his time studying with Brad Mehldau.
-John Kelman, All About Jazz
Album: Sign of the Times
Sign of the Times proves itself a wonderfully realized work of art, every tune a highlight, and with it Lackner steps into the ranks of fully developed jazz artists.
"Rambo Sex Party." The title might suggest slash and burn carnal carnage, but the tune has a genuine tenderness, insistent yet gentle,
as if our man Rambo has a softer side. Excellent! (read full review...)
-Dan McClenaghan , All About Jazz
The recorded sound of this album is brittle. Everything glares. Robert Perkins’ cymbals sound like glass shattering in an echo chamber.
Sign of the Times is piano trio music not for the faint of heart.
Indeed, Prince’s title track kicks and twitches and hammers and has more in common with punk culture than jazz as we have known it.
"Dresden Blues" has a bent blues form and a nasty stuttering syncopated groove.
this trio is multi-dimensional. Its raw creative energy and brute force is directed by Lackner’s musical sophistication and imposing technical facility
-Thomas Conrad, JAZZTIMES, November 2006 issue
“Red Hook,” with its lightly funky groove, and “Sheep's Dog,” with its more driving bottom-heavy rhythmic conceit, demonstrate a style that combines the pop sensibility of E.S.T., the quirky disposition of the Bad Plus (albeit less aggressively so) and the reflective personality of Mehldau into something that feels familiar in all those spheres and yet has a personal voice of its own.
-John Kelman, All About Jazz
"Where the BadPlus goes for the jugular on it's recordings, the Lacknerites keep it understated, a rarity for any jazz album.")
-All About Jazz
"Lackner may be the first established pianist to come from the Mehldau school. With a contemporary approach, he helps give the piano trio a much-needed face lift."
- John Kelman,AllAboutJazz.com
Sign of the Times proves itself a wonderfully realized work of art, every tune a highlight, they give the piano trio a much-needed facelift.")
Their sonic embellishments on the sound of the acoustic piano trio (slight electronic enhancements by Lackner and some drum programming by Perkins) give the overall sound a subtle yet modern, ambient feel.
-http://cdbaby.com/cd/bennylacknertrio
Album: Pilgrim
Lackner and company definitely fit into the Mehldau mold: a mix of subtlety and insistence, understatement and delicate beauty underlain by a firm melodic path.
The sound is introspective and understated— no flash or pyrotechics—with lots of breathing room and first-rate musicianship, reminiscent (delving into the pop world) of Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding (Columbia, '67) or Van Morrison's Astral Weeks (Warner Brothers, '68). A sound that caresses, seduces, and lasts. (read full review...)
By Dan McClenaghan
