Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Amaryllis 2 (2026) [Hi-Res]

A Brooklyn-based couple — musician, producer and filmmaker Richard X Bennett and vocalist, percussionist and spoken-word artist Paula Jeanine Bennett — have released the album "Amaryllis 2" on Ropeadope Records. Over the years they have built up a long list of collaborations and become so attuned to each other that their music moves fluidly between ensembles and settings. Richard, who usually conducts from behind the piano, is at his best alongside Paula's distinctive voice and percussion.

Richard is most often thought of as a jazz musician, but his influences also reach into R&B and electronica. His catalogue includes releases on the American label Ropeadope and the British label Ubuntu Music, as well as a series of records for Indian labels inspired by Indian classical music and raga-based compositions. Paula is a singer, songwriter, spoken-word artist and percussionist (frame drum, berimbau, surdo, djembe, conga, dumbek, shaker), also known chiefly for jazz standards. Her love of Indian classical music took her to Mumbai, where she continues to study Indian vocal styles; she has played in ensembles including PJB Jazzy 3 and Pe De Boi Power Samba.

On "Amaryllis 2" the sound is deliberately stripped-down: Richard plays piano, melodica and synths, while Paula sings and plays percussion. The album's fourteen tracks lean subtly toward neo-soul while keeping a constant pull toward jazz, creating a lush, enveloping mood. Richard's longtime collaborator Aaron "HUW" Dolton contributes two remixes, of "Golden Time" and "Grasslands," and the record closes with an electronic track by Jerome Begin, "Writings Rewrite." Although the duo already share a musical language, their curiosity is still restless, and that sense of ongoing discovery gives the album its lasting charm.

Tracklist:
1-1 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Bittersweet [3:16]
1-2 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Golden Time [4:27]
1-3 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - The Writing's on the Wall [3:49]
1-4 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - In the Bright [4:56]
1-5 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - The Poem is in my Step [3:49]
1-6 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Grasslands [3:48]
1-7 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - And in Those Eyes [4:18]
1-8 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - The Beauty of a Spring Night [3:19]
1-9 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Portrait in Sepia [4:18]
1-10 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - She is Present (June as a Ghost) [3:52]
1-11 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett - Never Known [3:05]
1-12 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett, HUW - Golden Time (Remix) [3:23]
1-13 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett, HUW - Grasslands (Remix) [3:12]
1-14 Paula Jeanine Bennett, Richard X Bennett, Jerome Begin - Writings Rewrite [3:47]