For four decades, Grammy-nominated pianist David Benoit has reigned as one of the founding fathers of Contemporary Jazz. He grew up in Los Angeles and caught the jazz bug in 1965 after watching a Charlie Brown special on television and hearing the music of Vince Guaraldi. “When I heard that jazz piano trio, that was the defining moment when I decided that I wanted to play like Vince Guaraldi,” says the pianist. At the age of thirteen, he began studying piano and later also studied music theory, composition, orchestration, and film scoring with several distinguished masters. Since then, he has worked with an impressive array of musicians, including the Rippingtons, Dave Koz, Faith Hill, David Sanborn, CeCe Winans, and Brian McKnight. David released his first album in 1977, followed by more than 40 other chart-topping CDs. In addition to performing his own music, he has served as conductor with a wide range of symphony orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Asia America Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He currently also hosts a morning radio show on KKJZ 88.1 FM in California. Overall, he has received three Grammy nominations and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Smooth Jazz Awards in 2010.