An artist from the early stages of youth, CHRIS BENNETT counts her accomplishments in classical piano study, voice training, composition and dance to culminate in a genuine love for the performing arts. Having chosen the field of Contemporary Jazz on which to focus, Chris has mastered a style of music that few dare to approach.

Best known for her work on "THEME FROM MIDNIGHT EXPRESS", which she composed with Giorgio Moroder, she received a GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATION for the Best Original Score written for a Motion Picture. The score went on to win the Academy Award that year. She first met Moroder, the producer of Donna Summer fame, at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. Their first collaboration was Chris' solo album, "Munich Machine Introducing Chris Bennett" for Casablanca Records which was chosen as a Billboard Album Pick. Her second album, "Giorgio and Chris", also for Casablanca, received the Stereo Review Special Merit Award. By the time they produced the "THEME FROM MIDNIGHT EXPRESS", Chris had become one of Moroder's main collaborators.

CHRIS BENNETT went on to write songs for such notable artists as Tina Turner, The Manhattan Transfer, Keb Mo, The Three Degrees, Nina Storey, Randy Hall and many others. She has sung background vocals for Donna Summer, Johnny Mathis, Rita Coolidge and many others and has produced albums for Keb Mo, Montana, Hiroko, and her own new CD, "Less Is More". The blond, 5'9" green-eyed Chris Bennett began her musical studies at the "ripe" age of three, while growing up in Marshall, Illinois, population 3,500. Influenced and encouraged by musical parents, she began to study dance, piano, and voice and finally graduated from the University of Illinois with honors in music and dance. She then headed to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. After attending UCLA graduate school she began appearing on Dean Martin's T.V. show and with Jim Nabors in Las Vegas.

Eager to travel and to develop her skills further, Chris put together her own nightclub act and took off on an international tour appearing in Bangkok, Bali and Tokyo. Eventually settling in Germany, where she met Giorgio Moroder, Chris got the chance to hone her acting skills starring in several TV series, as Janet in "Boeing, Boeing", Belinda in the 12-part series "The Island" and "Peter Voss", a German-French-Austrian co-production. She also became fluent in German and French.

The past few years have seen Chris polishing her talents even further with many live appearances on Japanese TV and in jazz clubs in Los Angeles, Japan, Europe, and Tahiti. Her music, most of it originals she composes herself, reflects her many early influences - artists from Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Peggy Lee to Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Audiences everywhere are excited by her sensual vocal style combined with the sensitivity and beauty of her music.

In 1993 she released her first Contemporary Jazz C.D. on Beachwood Records (available to order below). The self-titled "CHRIS BENNETT" found Chris in the studio with some of L.A.'s top musicians and producers. Accompanying her on that album are Gerald Albright, Paulinho De Costa, Charles Fearing, Tom Saviano, Wayne Johnson and Randy Hall. One reviewer says of that first CD.... "On CHRIS BENNETT" she combines her writing and singing skills and the result is 45 minutes of pure joy. "Shimmy Softly" is a sensual caress that envelopes the listener in its glimmering melody and Iyrical union. "Turning Into Love" is a gorgeous duet between Bennett and Randy Hall. This vocal collaboration and the addition of Glenn Burris' sax solo, exude romance and passion. Bennett puts her foot down and lays down the laws of love on "Ain't No Game". Wayne Johnson's guitar work on this piece help make it an instant winner. Johnson again excels on "Roll" as Bennett's breathy from-the-gut delivery once more draws the listeners' undivided attention. Imagine a deserted tropical beach - deserted that is, with the exception of you, the one you love, a magnum of chilled Dom Perignon, and a big bowl of fresh strawberries. That is the scene Bennett must have envisioned when creating "Besame Aqui". After a successful career as a background performer, it is a pleasure to welcome Chris Bennett to Center stage."

Her newest CD "LESS IS MORE" shows off Chris Bennett's silky smooth vocals on six original compositions, including a new version of "THEME FROM MIDNIGHT EXPRESS" and six jazz covers including "Isn't It Romantic?", "My Foolish Heart", and "People Will Say We're in Love". The instrumentation is simple - sometimes just piano, vocal and solo violin. Chris plays piano on three of the cuts and proves herself an accomplished pianist as well as a vocalist whose breathy passion has been described as a mix of Basia, Sade, Rita Coolidge, and perhaps a ballad-singing Streisand. She is accompanied by the famous Mz. Bobbye Hall, a percussionist who has played with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Tracey Chapman, and many of the Motown hits. Eric Doney, her pianist, coproducer, and the owner of her new label "PACIFIC STREET RECORDS" has performed and conducted for Phil Woods, Jon Hendricks, Les Brown, and many other jazz greats. Chris' dear friend, the great guitarist Wayne Johnson is present on two cuts including a breathtaking version of the great Jobim classic "Dindi".

On saxophone Armando Castagnoli, a new discovery Chris found while performing in Tahiti, adds drama to two of Chris' originals, "You Never Saw Me Dance" and "Theme From Midnight Express". She actually took the master to Tahiti to do the overdubs!

"Making music is like breathing to me", says Chris, "I have to do it. It is and always has been my life. I was certain at the age of three that I would be a performer. I try to choose songs with a positive message and thought-provoking Iyrics. I don't like "poor me" female-type songs, but instead feel my orighinal songs convey how modern women deal with life and love". It's no surprise that her new CD is receiving high praise - says one reviewer, "Her voice is hot and sensual and almost melts the vinyl - a very beautiful CD!