Marco Benevento – Glera is the artist’s debut album for Big Crown Records and one of his most expansive and distinctive releases to date, blending jazz, soul, reggae low-end and cinematic composition into a richly detailed, groove-led record. Long respected for his work as a keyboardist, composer and producer, Benevento uses Glera to present himself not simply as a player, but as a builder of complete musical worlds. The project began as an intuitive writing exercise inspired by Italian film scores and melodic composition, then gradually evolved into something broader and more muscular. Across the album, Benevento balances improvisational freedom with highly considered arrangement, allowing tracks to shift between chase-scene energy, psych-pop atmosphere, orchestral colour and laid-back rhythmic flow. The result is exploratory but never abstract for abstraction’s sake — every track remains grounded in groove. The album also benefits from a wide cast of collaborators, including Dream Crease, Chiara Civello, Molly Lewis and Marianne Mirage, alongside contributions from Leon Michels, Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon and others. These players add depth, texture and character without overwhelming Benevento’s central vision, helping the album feel expansive while remaining cohesive. Glera is an ideal record for listeners looking for instrumental music with genuine movement and crossover appeal, equally at home in jazz, soul and alternative spaces. It is rich, detailed and full of replay value, confirming Marco Benevento as a singular creative voice operating at a very high level.
