Jazz @ Lincoln Center Presents Great American Crooners - February 7, 2026 by Gallo Center for the Arts

ABOUT DIGITAL PROGRAMS

The Gallo Center has adopted the use of digital programs meant to be viewed on cell phones or other computer devices. This change has important public health, environmental and economic benefits: reducing close contacts between patrons and ushers, cutting our use of paper, and eliminating substantial printing costs. View the program only before shows begin or during intermissions. Please be considerate of other patrons and artists on stage by not viewing it during performances. Patrons who do not observe this courtesy and create distractions may be asked to leave. Thank you!

WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

The Gallo Center for the Arts is a non-profit performing arts center with a deep commitment to enriching the people and communities of California’s vast San Joaquin Valley. From the scintillating performances of its wonderful resident companies, to the great variety of world-class entertainment presented by the Center each season, to robust arts education programs for the region’s youth, this is where the magic happens.

From the beginning, the Center’s mission has been clearly defined: to provide an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national, and international cultural activities illuminate, educate, and entertain. Since revenue from ticket sales and facility rentals only covers a portion of the costs associated with fulfilling this mission, the Center is dependent on the generous annual financial support from donors and program sponsors within our community.

LEARN MORE AT GALLOARTS.ORG/SUPPORTUS.

ABOUT THE CENTER

HOW TO BUY TICKETS

In Person: 1000 I Street, downtown Modesto

Online: 24/7/365 at GalloArts.org

By Phone: (209) 338-2100

TICKET OFFICE HOURS

Monday – Friday: 10 am – 6 pm, Saturday: Noon – 6 pm Closed Sundays

Ticket Office opens two hours prior to all events

EMAIL LIST

GENERAL INFORMATION

The mission of the Gallo Center for the Arts is to enrich the quality of life in the San Joaquin Valley by providing an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national and international cultural activities illuminate, educate and entertain. The Gallo Center for the Arts celebrates the diversity of the San Joaquin Valley by offering an array of affordable cultural opportunities designed to appeal, and be accessible, to all.

The Center opened in September, 2007 and consists of the 440-seat Foster Family Theater, the 1,248-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater, the Marie Damrell Gallo Grand Lobby and a plaza serving both theaters, and the Modesto Rotary Music Garden.

As a regional non-profit performing arts center, the Gallo Center for the Arts presents internationally recognized touring artists in all disciplines, and also is home to four resident companies: Central West Ballet, Modesto Performing Arts, Modesto Symphony Orchestra and Opera Modesto. The Gallo Center for the Arts is a unique public/private partnership. Construction was funded jointly by the County of Stanislaus, which owns the facility, and contributions from more than 4,000 individuals and businesses given to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which today operates the Center.

PATRON EVENT INFORMATION

• Emergency exits are indicated by green exit signs located above each exit. For your safety, please check for the location of the exit nearest to your seat.

• The Gallo Center for the Arts is accessible to disabled patrons. Wheelchair seating is available in both theaters. Portable wireless listening devices are available at the Coat Check room at no charge. Please inform the Ticket Office of any special needs when ordering tickets.

• Food and beverages are not allowed in the theaters. (with the exception of bottled water and beverages served in theater cups.)

• Smoking is prohibited inside the building and within 20 feet of all entrances.

• Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the Gallo Center for the Arts’ house managers.

• The use of recording equipment and the taking of photographs in Gallo Center for the Arts theaters is strictly forbidden. The Gallo Center for the Arts reserves the right to confiscate any such equipment and/or require offending customers to exit the premises.

• As a courtesy to artists and to your fellow patrons,

please turn off or silence any mobile device on your person. No texting, please!

• Restrooms are located on all three levels of the Center.

• Lost items will be held in the Coat Check room on the main level until the end of the performance. Thereafter, please contact Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.

• All patrons MUST have a ticket to enter a performance regardless of age.

• Out of courtesy to other patrons, the Gallo Center for the Arts requests that no infants or toddlers attend any performance.

Groups qualify for discounts up to 15% on ticket prices to the many exciting performances offered by the Gallo Center for the Arts and its resident companies.

Secure your group reservation today for just 10% down of your total price!

EMPLOYEE PARTIES/REWARDS CHURCH OUTINGS CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

BUS TOURS

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT

SENIOR CENTER OUTINGS

HOLIDAY, ANNIVERSARY & BIRTHDAY PARTIES

…AND MORE!

ONE CALL DOES IT ALL!

Our group sales manager, Jesica Sanchez, is at your service. Call her at (209) 338-5064, or send an email to jsanchez@galloarts.org.

February 7, 2026

Benny Benack III Bio

By age 31, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the postbop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This duel-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well. Benny has performed internationally as an Emcee/Host for the Youtube sensation Postmodern Jukebox, and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for

his crooning alongside the Grammy-award winning “8-Bit Big Band”. In early 2020 he released A Lot of Livin’ to Do, the followup to his well-received 2017 debut One of a Kind. This sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, features bassist extraordinaire and Jazz ambassador Christian McBride (whose Grammy-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section) and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens, Jr., as well as the radiant Takeshi Ohbayashi on piano and Rhodes. His vocalese duet on “Social Call” from this album alongside fellow young star vocalist Veronica Swift became an instant smash hit single, being transcribed and learned by Jazz vocalists around the world.

Alongside his global touring as a straightahead/contemporary bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at Birdland, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle and other leading New York venues, and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his television debut in NBC’s short-lived, SNL-inspired variety show “Maya & Marty” playing in the instudio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. His global

recognition has been bolstered by recent livestreaming concerts at Smalls Jazz Club, where he maintains a weekly residency, as well as frequent appearances on fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” weekly show.

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. Benny, Sr. hailed from a Pittsburgh lineage that also produced Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and so many more. He recorded the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1960 theme song “Beat ’Em Bucs” and toured with Tommy Dorsey and Raymond Scott, among others. Benny III returns to Pittsburgh often to perform, saluting his family forebears and the jazz heritage as a whole, nonetheless staking his bold and highly individual artistic claim. He is an endorsing artist with Torpedo Bags cases, CarolBrass flugelhorns, as well as various menswear fashion lines including X-Suit, Alain Dupetit, Proper Cloth & Vittone.

Robbie Lee Bio

Robbie Lee is a New York City based pianist, vocalist, composer and educator whose spectacular ability to merge his equal talents make him one of the most exciting emerging artists to date. Growing up in Tucson, AZ Lee was encouraged by his mother to find music he enjoyed. Falling in love with earlier blues and rock and roll music, Robbie eventually found jazz as a new way to express himself. Through joining the Tucson Jazz Institute, Lee was exposed to a broad range of jazz from Traditional to Post-Bop styles. Eagerly gathering information from the plethora of this music, Lee was encouraged to develop his own voice and keep an open mind.

A graduate of both The Juilliard School(AD ‘21) and The Manhattan School of Music(BM ‘18), at 27 he has already shared the stage with his mentors, such as world renown jazz icons Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Herlin Riley, Bruce Barth, Matt Wilson, and Brice Winston. As both a leader and a sideman,

Robbie has graced several world class stages, including Dizzy’s Club, Smalls Jazz Club, Birdland, Frederick P. Rose Hall, and Joe’s Pub. He has also played in numerous jazz festivals across the globe including the Monterey Jazz Festival, The Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Bern Jazz Festival. Throughout his career, Lee has earned recognition for both his performance and composition skills, receiving awards from Downbeat Magazine, YoungArts, The Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition, and The Next Generation Jazz Festival.

Commonly regarded as a first rate pianist/ vocalist, Robbie draws musical inspiration from Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and many others. While he mostly performs songs of the Great American Songbook and Jazz Idiom, showcasing his versatility and deep understanding of the genre, Lee also enjoys composing new works that feature his peers and himself.

As a writer, Lee has arranged/composed works ranging in ensemble size from solo piano to full orchestra. He credits world-class musicians such as Scott Black, Doug Tidaback, Brice Winston, Ted Rosenthal, Jeremy Manasia, Phil Markowitz, Frank Kimbrough, Charenee Wade, and Geoffery Keezer as mentors who have played a crucial role in shaping his skills and artistic vision.

Just as his mentors did for him, Robbie believes in giving back to the community and teaches regularly in the NYC metropolitan area, passing on his knowledge and inspiring the next generation of musicians. With a growing collection of awards and accolades to his name, Robbie continues to inspire, uplift and warm the hearts of audiences and his peers alike.

Shenel Johns Bio

With a voice that embodies grace and passion and a personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel, Shenel has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Johns has been performing since she was fourteen years of age, and has developed a distinctive, eclectic style that has increasingly caught the attention of her peers and some of the industry’s top performers. Johns received a B.A. in music management from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music and studied performance with such jazz legends as Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene, and Nat Reeves. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick, and Sheila Jordan, and has performed and recorded with an impressive array of leaders in the field. In 2016, Johns completed a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha in Qatar and, several

months later, honored Billie Holiday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York production of Billie and the Boys. She has also paid tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s famed Appel Room. Most recently, Johns was the winner of the Riga Jazz Stage Competition in Riga, Latvia, and was featured in the Hartford Jazz Festival’s Ella Fitzgerald Tribute

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CENTER CIRCLES

*Charter

Gallo Center

for the a r t s

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ginger Johnson, Chair of the Board

Marie D. Gallo, President Emerita† June Rogers, Director Emerita

Christina Gomez, Immediate Past Chair

Mel Bradley, Chair Elect

Sarah Grover

Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D. Jeff

Todd Aaronson

Angelica Anguiano

Rebeca Baeza

Victor Barraza

John C. Bellizzi

Jennifer Coehlo

Stacey Filippi

Robert Fores

Lou Friedman

Julian Gallo

Diane

Stephanie

Ann M. Veneman

Geoff Wong

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Mani Grewal Emma Grover

Irene Angelo†

Lilly Banisadre

Carl Boyett†

Joan Cardoza

Sheila Carroll

Suzanne Casazza

Paul Draper

Ron Emerzian

Ann Endsley

Kenni Friedman

Jaime Jimenez

Brian Kline

Kevin Luttenegger

Johann Ramirez

Catherine Rhee

Rosalee Rush

Robert Soria

John Schneider

Kate Trompetter

Philip Trompetter, Ph.D. Aaron Valencia

Colleen F. Van Egmond

Julie Vander Wall

Sue Zwahlen

FOUNDING TRUSTEES

Kate

Barry Highiet†

Jeanne

M.D.

Tony Mistlin†

M.D.

Schrimp

Fred A. Silva

Ray Simon

Delmar R. Tonge, M.D.†

Tom Van Groningen, Ph.D.

Doug Vilas

Carol Whiteside†

Jeremiah Williams

Alice Yip

Memoriam