Robyn Bennett, The Bang Bang 5tet - Live Until You Die (2011)

Born in Pennsylvania, Robyn grew up surrounded by music : "Between my mom who played piano and my dad who was always listening to his vast record collection of blues, jazz, country and oldies, there was always music playing in our house".

Robyn started learning to play the piano at age 6, thanks to her grandmother who bought her a piano for her birthday, and then went on to sing in various choirs and jazz groups throughout high school. An avid dancer as well, Robyn studied ballet, jazz, tap, acro and modern dance. A triple threat, Robyn continued to study singing, dancing and acting and received a Bachelor of Arts from the prestigious Vassar College (New York) in 2001. Honing her skills in musical theater, she went on to study at New York University and gained experience in Off-Broadway productions such as “West Side Story”, “Carousel” and “South Pacific”.

Robyn moved to Paris in 2006 to join the cast of the musical "Cabaret" (Dir. Sam Mendes) which played for 2 years at the famous Folies Bergeres theater. Dance captain of the cast, she also played the role of Texas and understudied the lead role of Sally Bowles, made famous on screen by Liza Minnelli. It was during this production that Robyn met the Paris-based jazz trombone player Ben Van Hille who had just finished his first album of original songs, "Suite Parisienne". In 2010 they went on to join forces to record « Bang Bang », a remarkable first album that mixes post-war swing standards, Broadway classics and even some 60's pop gems, all miraculously reunited by a fresh, atypical sound. "We discovered that we shared a passion for all music that stemmed from New Orleans, (a certain sound, a groove, a shared experience) and it was important for us to create something around that."

Released in October 2011 comes Robyn's second album « Live Until You Die ». While still jazzy, a more raw, earthy sound mixed with punchy horn arrangements give the album a soulful feel. With more maturity, Robyn's voice gains in depth and comes into its own. Carried by Ben's contemporary arrangements, we are pleasantly surprised by a "Perhaps" with a surf-guitar feel, a very funky "Makin' Whoopee", "I'm Gonna Live Until I Die" that flirts with a ska beat … as well as a first original song "Down", that will be featured in Laura Morante's feature-length French film "La Cerise sur le Gateau".
"We were asked to write a song for this movie and it allowed us to see how we compose together. A great experience that we can't wait to do again, and again and again ! You can be expecting a 3rd album of original songs soon !