Bennett's first professional gig was with
Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with
Georgie Auld,
Terry Gibbs, and
Charlie Ventura. He served in the
Army during the
Korean War from 1951 to 1953, and then played and recorded in the New York and Los Angeles jazz scenes with
Stan Kenton,
Charlie Mariano, the
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra,
Frank Rosolino,
Bill Holman, and others. During the mid-1950s, Bennett released three records under his own leadship for
Bethlehem Records, a period when producer
Creed Taylor was shifting the label's focus to jazz. Bennett settled permanently in Los Angeles, where he did most of his work from the late 1950s onwards. In the Los Angeles area, he played regularly at the
Lighthouse Cafe with his own ensemble, and as a studio musician and occasional touring musician, he with such vocalists as
Barbra Streisand,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Joni Mitchell and
Joan Baez during the 1960s and 1970s. As a Los Angeles-based studio musician, Bennett recorded with artists in
traditional pop field such as
Peggy Lee and
Billy Eckstine, and with artists recording
rock and roll and newer styles of popular music, like
The Monkees,
Frank Zappa and
The 5th Dimension. Bennett often recorded with the group of musicians later known as
The Wrecking Crew during the 1960s and 1970s. He began recording using the
bass guitar during the 1960s (rather than the
double bass on which he'd done most of his professional work during the 1950s). A widely-heard example of Bennett's electric bass playing is the 1976 theme from the
Rocky movie soundtrack, "
Gonna Fly Now". In 1969, Bennett served as the principal bassist for
Frank Zappa's
Hot Rats project. In 1976 Bennett performed the bassline of "
Gonna Fly Now", the theme song from the movie
Rocky, composed by
Bill Conti. His studio work also included bass on the 1969
Lalo Schifrin soundtrack to the 1968 film
Bullitt as well as
Greatest Science Fiction Hits Volumes 1-3 with Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra. In 1973, Guerin and Bennett joined
Tom Scott's
L.A. Express alongside
Joe Sample and
Larry Carlton. After recording their eponymous debut album, the
jazz fusion quintet served as the core band for Mitchell's
Court and Spark (1974). ==Discography==