Avant-jazz and the cover: the music of Marco Benevento

Note: Photo courtesy of Calabro Music Media.

Marco Benevento has a unique way of making a cover.

It doesn't entail merely regurgitating a melody with another singer or instrument (even though they remain intact). No, a cover to this eclectic-jazz artist means deconstructing a song, finding colorful additions or flourishes, and making a whole new song out of it.

"When you play a tune and do your own thing to it, it's important to retain the musical color of it," Benevento said. "You need to capture the essence of it and put your essence in it at the same time."

Benevento put this to good use with his latest album Me, Not Me. A jazz record in only the simplest terms, Benevento puts his "essence" into songs by Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen and a few originals. The versatile pianist (he also plays solo shows, is in the Benevento-Russo Duo, and often collaborates with other artists) is able to make the songs his own, by running his piano through various effects and pedals.

The album was a project he had wanted to do since he moved to New York in 2000.

"It's been done in rock music and every other kind of music," Benevento said. "I have been playing these songs for a long time, and I finally felt comfortable enough to do such a thing."

Benevento said the songs picked for this record are ones he has been playing for a long time ("certain songs lend themselves to improvisation and reorganization, but it takes time to try them live"), and ones he feels a personal connection with.

One of the most popular tracks he has reinterpreted though, is the song "Golden" by My Morning Jacket. While the melody remains intact, the focus instead shifts onto the percussion and rhythm, re-imagining it as more groove-oriented than the original's moody acoustic vibe.

Benevento said that was one of the songs he really wanted to stick out on the album, adding tempo and mood changes throughout the song that weren't imagined the first time around.

It's a great cover, but best of all, it's a weird one.

And if Benevento's music errs on the side of weird on record, it's a whole different beast in concert. With this tour, which brings him to Logan Square Auditorium on Thursday, he is playing as a trio, including bass, drums and whatever piano there is for him to tinker with.

"I just put some pedals in a backpack and a microphone that I leave in the piano," Benevento said. "I then run it through a guitar amp to recreate the song."

This can provide mixed results though, as not every piano has the same sound (he describes it as "Frankensteining" the piano).

Still, with the gamble that is every new piano, there is a guarantee that every show will be unique.

"It's exciting to find the piano as a whole other instrument," he said. "It's almost like a guitar concept of a piano. You get feedback, and there are fluctuations, because it's a live acoustic instrument."

Marco Benevento, with Liquid Beat Allstars, will be at Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd, Chicago, Thursday, April 9 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.