Benedetto Artist Howard Alden performed at Saturday night’s SRO concert with Barry Wahrhaftig and Hot Club of Philadelphia, courtesy of Dennis Matthews. Great shot of Howard doin’ his thing!

Benedetto is a proud sponsor of the Savannah Jazz Festival (SJF), bringing in many of our artists. This year’s Festival original art was created by the talented Rose Lane White Leavell, a fifth generation Georgian, highly accomplished fine artist, tree farmer, and conservationist. She is also a wardrobe manager for a little rock band called the Rolling Stones. She and her rock-star husband, Chuck Leavell manage Charlane Plantation and also have a home in Savannah. The painting is entitled “Down by the Riverside” and is set on Johnny Mercer’s Moon River. It depicts Savannah legend Ben Tucker, playing with local jazz hero, our very own Howard Paul with Lena Horne singing under the Spanish moss at sunset. Truly a Savannah Jazz Fantasy! Stay tuned for the release of the annual poster you can bring home!

“We at Benedetto Guitars are all very saddened to hear the loss of our friend and colleague, Bill Collings. Bill was a ‘force of nature’ and raised the bar with everything he did. He will be missed.”
– Bob Benedetto

We lost our dear friend and mentor Bill Collings yesterday. He was the amazingly creative force behind Collings Guitars for over 40 years. Through his unique and innate understanding of how things work, and how to make things work better, he set the bar in our industry and touched many lives in the process. His skill and incredible sense of design were not just limited to working with wood, but were also obvious in his passion for building hot rods. To Bill, the design and execution of elegant form and function were what mattered most.

Perhaps even more exceptional than his ability to craft some of the finest instruments in the world, was his ability to teach and inspire. He created a quality-centered culture that will carry on to honor his life’s work and legacy. He was loved by many and will be greatly missed. Our hearts are with his family.

William R. Collings
8/9/1948 – 7/14/2017

What does the Hilton Head Jazz Camp faculty do after a day of working with jazz campers? More jazz of course!! Wednesday night at Red Fish on HHI, Kevin Bales and Nicki Parrot joined the John Brackett Trio featuring our own Howard Paul and Maggie Evans. It was quite a night of jazz!

From 2011, (l to r:) Benedetto Artist Ulf Wakenius (with his Bambino) performed with Martin Taylor at Tokyo’s famed Cotton Club.