How a health crisis gave David Benoit newfound energy for his music

For jazz legend David Benoit, the Philippines is more than just another stop on his world tours.

It is the place where his career truly found its wings, the country that embraced his music long before the rest of the world caught on.

“You know, I’ve got to figure that out because it’s been anywhere from 10 to 15 times,” he told The STAR during a recent visit, when asked how many times he had performed in the country. “My memory is getting worse as the years go on, but I know I can remember the first concert very well. That was in ‘81. If you think about it, that was 45 years ago.”

The American hitmaker (Take a Look Inside My Heart, The Key to You, Promise Me a Carousel, among others) still recalls that first Manila show vividly: “Nobody knew who I was. But I was this overnight star in Manila. One of my favorite memories (was) being treated like royalty when I was just playing nightclubs in Los Angeles (at that time).”

That’s why he has always considered the Philippines as the country that gave him his big break. “Somehow, my music just kind of caught on here, and it became very popular where it wasn’t so popular. It took a while in the U.S, but here it just exploded,” Benoit shared.

“So, I tell people that my career really got launched here, here in the Philippines. So that’s why I have to come back because it’s so special. Now, I guess, I’m kind of considered a legacy artist. But, you know, that’s okay. Because I do have a long legacy here in the Philippines.”

For Benoit, what makes Filipino audiences special is how “musical” and “appreciative” they are. “I don’t come here for the weather, of course,” he quipped. “But it’s the people, and they’re so kind. They’re so appreciative.

“It’s just beautiful that I was thinking about it on the plane ride today. I’ve written music that, you know, means a lot to people that they’re willing to fly me all the way over from California. It’s very gratifying.”

If Benoit speaks with a profound sense of gratitude these days, it also stems from a health ordeal that nearly claimed his life. One of his future plans is to debut a cello concerto particularly inspired by this story.

“It’s a story about my journey with kidney disease and how I survived and almost died about three years ago. It was right after the pandemic. I’m a kidney transplant patient,” he revealed.

“It came from a lady in Atlanta, Georgia, and she’s young, she’s only 40. I met her, yeah.”

Benoit actually lived with kidney disease for a decade. “So for 10 years, I was getting more and more tired, losing my appetite. This is what happens when your kidneys don’t work, right?”

He was on dialysis before receiving the transplant.

“That’s how bad it was… It was after we took a vacation in Italy and I couldn’t eat. The numbers were bad. (My doctor) said, we have to get you on dialysis immediately. Or I was going to die. So, yeah, I got hooked up in the machine. I did that for a year. Three days a week, four hours a day on the machine, (they) put the tubes in you every day. I was so lucky to get the kidneys.”

Looking back, Benoit admitted that his lifestyle contributed to the condition. “One (cause) is just hereditary. Some people have bad kidneys. I think my kidneys were okay. But here’s how I got it. It’s called hypertension, and that’s someone who has extremely high blood pressure, which I do. And it went undiagnosed,” he shared.

“It’s also the lifestyle. I drank a lot of alcohol. It was scotch, whiskey, and cocktails. Never during the show, but always afterwards. And then getting up and flying to the next town. And years and years living the jazz life.

“And I didn’t know, but my blood pressure was really high. So when the blood pressure is too high, it restricts the arteries, and the kidneys aren’t getting any blood, and they start getting help. I need something.”

Then, it reached a point where his health was in complete crisis.

“Finally, when I was hospitalized, they couldn’t even read (my blood pressure), it was so high. 300/200… I was in a complete crisis. That’s why I almost died. I was this close.

“And they got me triaged, all these tubes in hand. They turned on this machine with oxygen… because what was happening, I was drowning in myself. The kidneys just stopped working. So as a result, the water built up in my lungs, so I was drowning.

“So, they were able to save my life. And the doctor was actually the one that took me to the hospital… he looked at me and said, you’re ready to check out. We got to save your life.”

The transplant wasn’t just life-saving, it also became life-changing. “It was like a jolt. Jolt of energy. So, it was a good thing.”

Benoit remains vigilant because of hypertension. “It still is high. I checked the other day. I mean, not too high, but it runs high. I take blood pressure medication. It’s just maintenance. But all the travel, and I’ve been doing a lot of travel, so it’s tough.”

But other than that, he described his health nowadays as pretty good. “I’m ready to go on stage, ‘Let’s have some fun.’ (My health is) pretty good. I’m not overweight but I can lose some pounds. Actually, what happened was because I had the disease, I had to be so strict about my diet, I couldn’t eat very much. Until now.

“Last year, I was like okay, bring it on. Steak, some martinis. I got this little tummy here (laughs). And now, I’ve come back to reality. But I’m having fun. But otherwise, my health is good. I turned 72 just a couple weeks ago (Aug. 18).”

With a transplant behind him and a new lease on life, it appears that Benoit is now playing with newfound energy and more conviction than ever. His secret to live performances? “Passion. Playing a lot of soul, with a lot of energy. I don’t do any tricks, any stage theatrics. No lights, no dancing. I just play the piano. But I try to play with so much passion and energy. People feel it,” he told The STAR.

The musician — who divides his time between homes in the US and Japan with his Japanese wife and their child — continues to take on the challenges and joys of touring.”

“I think now, as I’m getting older, I think people feel it’s important to hear the real thing,” he said.

“Maybe there’s some imitators or people that sound like me, but they want to hear me. And there’s only so many more years I can keep doing. So I think that is important, I would think, to the fans, to have this opportunity to hear the person that wrote the songs that they like live in color.”