Musician, Bennett Roth-Newell

Written by Brandon Roos Photography by Stan Olszewski

bennettrothnewell.com soundcloud.com/bennettroth Instagram bennettjazzkeys COVID may have taken away his gigs, but it certainly sparked his creativity. With Grown, rapper and pianist Bennett Roth-Newell hits a new stride–and makes sure to thank his wife for it.

Bennett Roth-Newell has maintained a place as one of the South Bay’s best kept musical secrets for years now. Equally capable as an emcee and pianist, he embodies a rare fusion of two disparate styles and tastes. Yet he proves that hip-hop and jazz carry plenty of crossover.

“I know the two wouldn’t exist without each other,” he says when speaking about his musical trajectory. “I played piano and went into jazz interests first, but I think hip-hop is significantly responsible for that evolution of my decisions musically,” he shares.

Roth-Newell is quick to add that his fusion wouldn’t matter if it weren’t for a receptive community that understood where he’s coming from. He alludes to his standing Sunday weekly at cocktail bar 55 South with The Illiance, a group he’s been a part of since 2015. The event is a local institution at this point, and the band performs a fluid medley of songs that can cover funky jazz, neo soul, and even the hyphy hiphop of Mac Dre in a single extended passage. Roth-Newell occupies a spot in the mix perfectly, executing a blazing piano solo in one moment and kicking a freestyle off the top of his head in the next.

He admits he feels like he’s in the middle of a musical evolution. One big reason for that is his recent marriage.

“I can say it without a doubt: it’s very much feeling like a new chapter, and a chapter for the best for sure,” he admits of his transition into married life. “It does feel like it’s been a greater maturation of me as a person. I think it’s carried over into how I play music, how I compose, and how to be professional.”

As a freelance educator and musician, Roth-Newell’s career involved constant movement from one gig or assignment to the next, often at the sacrifice of his own creativity. “Then, with the snap of a finger, the gigs went goodbye,” he shares with a laugh, “and the commutes and the lessons in person went goodbye.” He suddenly found moments to create.

While he lost many gigs, he regained time to write. This helped him craft the songs that would become Grown, which was released in early 2022. It’s an apt title for the project, given his shift into married life and the musical refinement he’s noticed in himself. He references this in the album’s opening lines, rapping, “I’m grown now / left that college life alone now // I’m more accustomed to keeping a lower profile / Handling business, I ain’t out here acting so wild / A welcome change from the ways of my old style.”

“I think overall, there’s just a lot more substance to hopefully hit folks more universally than previous records,” he says of this album. That in-

cludes “Vicious Cycle,” which speaks to the Black Lives Matter protests he took part in during the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd. Taking a unifying stance, he raps “They can impose a curfew / But there will never be a curfew on love for all.”

As far as his refinement, he credits his wife Valencia with aiding in that musical shift.

“She knows my music front to back. So yeah, I totally put stock in her feedback,” he shares. “She’s helped me grow musically in a lot of ways. She’d always say, ‘I don’t want to be able to hear everything through the music.’ That’s her saying, ‘let everything be a seamless transition from the speaker to the listener’s ear.’ ”

Not quite an elder statesman, but certainly a veteran on the scene at this point, Roth-Newell has taken to leading local jams and standing in as a music director on recording projects for friends. He’s been the creative arts director at the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement in Menlo Park since 2016. He also spent time this past year teaching virtually with the Stanford Jazz Workshop and adds that he had a blast sharing advice and constructive criticism with up-and-coming teenage pianists.

Honoring the spirit of helping others is something he says he first picked up as a student at the Riekes Center. “[For me], it’s carried over into the world of being a teacher and being in the service of trying to lift others up in their goals as a musician, artist, or student.”

Roth-Newell is working on a follow-up to Grown. He says this one will be different stylistically, because he’d like to share an album with original material and a solo piano. Now that he’s back in touch with his creativity on a regular basis, he’s not ready to let it go.

“I’m happy as ever, man. And my mind’s nice and limber and clear,” he shares, eager to watch the future play out. He continues, “I just know a lot of chapters have some content that will soon be written.” C