I met Richard X Bennett in 2016. He is a wonderfully talented pianist and composer who immediately opened my ears to the beautiful sounds of Indian classical music through his joyous and energetic compositions — raga-based melodies woven within a traditional jazz ensemble.

In an October 2017 DownBeat article, Richard described our first meeting: he had asked a mutual colleague, "Who is the craziest sax player you know?" The answer was Matt Parker. "Matt came over, and in 30 seconds I knew we had a band."

Since then, we've recorded and performed many shows under Richard's name and launched a uniquely joyful duo project covering the history of classical and jazz music alongside our original compositions. That duo work eventually became Parker Plays X — the first co-led recording from the two of us, released on BYNK Records in 2023.

Richard has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Summerstage. Internationally his bands have played in over twenty countries. He has many albums on Indian, American, and British labels — a career defined by fearless genre-crossing and genuine musical curiosity.