Robert Benedetto (born October 22, 1946 in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York) is an American
luthier
A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...
of
archtop jazz guitars. In 1968, he made his first archtop guitar in New Jersey and has handcrafted nearly 850 musical instruments. His guitars appear on many recordings, videos, and TV and film soundtracks, and have been featured in books, magazines and museums (including the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and the National Guitar Museum).
By the 1970s (he relocated to Florida in 1976), his reputation grew as he crafted archtop guitars for professional jazz players
Bucky Pizzarelli
John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist.
He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...
,
Chuck Wayne
Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was an American jazz guitarist. He came to prominence in the 1940s, and was among the earliest jazz guitarists to play in the bebop style. Wayne was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, the f ...
,
Joe Diorio
Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 – February 2, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist. He performed with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, Anita O'Day, and Freddie Hubbard. In recent ye ...
and
Cal Collins, and in the 80s and 90s for
Johnny Smith
Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Early life
During the Great D ...
,
Jack Wilkins
Jack Rivers Lewis (born June 4, 1944), known professionally as Jack Wilkins, is a jazz guitarist.
Career
A native of New York City, Wilkins grew up listening to his parents' music, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. He ...
,
Ron Eschete Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
,
Martin Taylor,
Howard Alden
Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps.
Early life
How ...
,
John Pizzarelli
John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...
,
Andy Summers
Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...
,
Jimmy Bruno
Jimmy Bruno (born July 22, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Bruno started playing guitar at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. He played ...
,
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
and
Pat Martino
Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Biography
Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...
, among others, collectively known as “The Benedetto Players”. More recent jazz guitarists who play Benedetto guitars include Dan Faehnle, Joe Negri, Chico Pinheiro and Andreas Varady.
Benedetto married Cindy Whyte in 1975 who has photographed and extensively documented Robert’s guitars and their players. In 1983, Benedetto began making violins for both orchestra and jazz artists. His most notable endorser was
Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to:
* Stéphane, a French given name
* Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece
* Stephane (Paphlagonia)
Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...
.
In 1990 Benedetto relocated to East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter, in 1992, he offered an archtop guitar making course at his shop. In 1994 he published his book ''Making An Archtop Guitar'', followed in 1996 with his instructional DVD ''Archtop Guitar Design & Construction''. That same year Cindy organized the first of the ongoing Benedetto Players in Concert series.
Also in 1996, Benedetto made “La Cremona Azzurra” a blue archtop guitar commissioned by guitar collector Scott Chinery and exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution. Benedetto’s Blue Guitar was featured on the Smithsonian’s commemorative Blue Guitar poster.
In 2000, he published full-scale blueprints of a 17" Benedetto archtop guitar, followed in 2004 by the Mel Bay production of ''Benedetto: Body and Soul'' DVD, a biography by William Doyle.
From 1999 to 2006, Benedetto had a licensing agreement with
Fender Musical Instruments to produce his models in their Custom Shop. He also redesigned the
Guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
Artist Award (later the Johnny Smith Award) and the Guild Stuart X-700.
In 2006, Benedetto ended his seven year licensing agreement with Fender and partnered with businessman/guitarist
Howard Paul to open a small manufacturing facility in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, where the Benedetto staff makes a full line of archtop guitars.
In 2014, Benedetto partnered with Bill Neale to make Benedetto Amps, a line of American-made jazz amps.
In 2018, a Benedetto 50th Anniversary concert was presented by the Savannah Music Festival featuring Howard Alden, Chico Pinheiro, Romero Lubambo, "King" Solomon Hicks and Pat Martino. The Second Edition of his book "Making an Archtop Guitar" was published in 2018 (Centerstream Publishing/Hal Leonard ).
References
*
*
*
*
* ''Hand Made, Hand Played: The Art & Craft of Contemporary Guitars'' by Robert Shaw (2008), Lark Press,
* ''The Acoustic Guitar'' by Nick Freeth & Charles Alexander (1999), Courage Books,
* ''Blue Guitar'', by Ken Vose,
Chronicle Books, 1998,
* ''The Chinery Collection: 150 Years of American Guitars'' (Collectors), Outline Press Ltd., 1999,
* ''Making an Archtop Guitar'' by Robert Benedetto (Centerstream Publications) 1994,
* ''Benedetto: Body & Soul DVD'' by William J. Doyle,
Mel Bay
Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller.
Biography
Early life
Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...
2004
* ''The Gibson ES175: Its History and Players'' by Adrian Ingram (1994), Centerstream Publications,
* ''Acoustic Guitars and Other Fretted Instruments'' by George Gruhn & Walter Carter (1993), Backbeat Books,
* ''The Jazz Guitar'' by Maurice Summerfield (Third Edition 1993), Ashley Mark Publication Company,
* ''Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars'' by George Gruhn & Walter Carter (1991), Backbeat Publications,
* ''The Gibson Super 400: Art of the Fine Guitar'' by Thomas A. Van Hoose (1991), Backbeat Publications,
* ''Violin Makers of the United States'' by Thomas James Wenberg (1986), Pizzicato Pub Co,
* ''Making an Archtop Guitar Second Edition by Robert Benedetto (Centerstream Publications/ Hal Leonard) 2018,
External links
Benedetto Guitars, Inc.website
Benedetto Guitars Archives websitewebsite
Benedetto 50th Anniversary youtube videoBenedetto: Body & Soul trailer*
Robert Benedetto InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedetto, Robert
Guitar makers
American luthiers
1946 births
Living people
People from the Bronx