Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia in 1962, I attended Youngtown Primary and went on to finish my schooling at Kings Meadows High School. Having an early interest in music I worked in various music shops around Tasmania before inevitably performing in local restaurants and bars for five years until joining the Blues Brothers Revival Band as their keyboard player in 1986 and toured Australia with them for two years.
With the dawning of midi machines around this time I formed an obscure duo with the now highly acclaimed jazz trumpeter, Scott Tinkler.
Heavily influenced by the sound, electronics and programming of the band, Matt Bianco, we gigged from Tasmania to New South Wales for three years before I returned to Tasmania to continue working solo.
It was at that time I decided to enhance my solo sound vocally by adding two female singers and founded the three piece outfit, Club Bennetto. It was hugely supported as a trio to eventually a duo in Tasmania for the next three years and again stongly attended for another year as the resident act at Jupiters Casino on Queensland's Gold Coast of Australia.
After Club Bennetto success I based myself in Tasmania as the resident musician at Hobart's Wrest Point Casino and would continue stability and support forming various outfits before a four month look at the scene in Europe as a solo performer in 1995.
This stint took me to the Canary Islands in Spain to Dresden, Dortmund and Hanover in Germany. After returning to my resident gigs in Tasmania I once again would return solo to Europe in 1999 for a one month engagement in Rotterdam, Holland and nine months booked in Germany.
I was soon very much based and established in Europe with only the occasional stint back in Tasmania every year as I now had established good contacts and regular gigs in Germany, Ireland and Switzerland.
In September 2006 I recorded a CD, Doin' Late Nights, in Graz, Austria and now have settled in Davos, Switzerland.
I hope you like my page and the songs, would love to hear your comments or better still, come to the gig!
Cheers, Brett.
