Jon Benjamin & The Jazz Daredevil Band with Jo Firestone at Union Pool
On Thursday, March 19, 2026, Jon Benjamin & The Jazz Daredevil Band continued their two night residency at Union Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Both evenings were recorded for a forthcoming live album. Over a decade ago, Sub Pop Records released Benjamin’s first album as the Jazz Daredevil, Well I Should Have…*, a release where Benjamin recorded a jazz album with professional jazz musicians despite not knowing how to play the piano at all. At Union Pool, it was apparent Jon didn’t improve much since the 2015 release but has now ventured into free jazz, which is more experimental and works in his favor as a piano novice.
Before the second night began, Benjamin appeared on stage and addressed the audience. First he addressed us as if he was giving a wedding speech for an old friend named David. Then he asked if anyone was opposed to free jazz. One person indicated he was, and Jon pretended to be angry with him. He then introduced comedian/writer/director Jo Firestone. Firestone performed a brief set and joked that she would appear, then about an hour later, we’d see the band, so it was like going to a restaurant, having graham crackers up front and then an hour later, we’d get our meal. She did some crowd work by asking if anyone was in need of guidance and a man by the name of Max to my right responded that he did. She had a Cheesecake Factory menu on her phone and scrolled through it until Max told her to stop. She landed on the SkinnyLicious® Chicken Pasta and interpreted what that meant, and Max confirmed that it was helpful to him. Then the audience collectively did the same thing, and we as a group asked her to stop scrolling and we all landed on Renee’s Chicken-Almond Salad Sandwich, and for that moment, the entire audience was Renee and proud of the meal named after us.
Just after 8:40PM, Jazz Daredevil Band member Doug Berns appeared on stage to read a statement from the Jazz Daredevil himself. The statement expressed that we in the audience were about to witness history and be a part of history. The Jazz Daredevil Band featured Miles Francis on drums, Berns on bass, Lynn Ligammari on baritone saxophone & clarinet, and David Rosenthal on guitar with these members performing together at first, with Jon Benjamin now donning his daredevil jumpsuit joining the stage to sit front and center in front of a keyboard. There wasn’t much banter from Benjamin himself, whose voice has brought life to many characters such as Ben Katz ("Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist”) Coach McGuirk & Jason Penopolis (“Home Movies”), Can of Vegetables (Wet Hot American Summer), Sterling Archer (“Archer”), Jimmy Jr. and Bob Belcher (“Bob’s Burgers”). Seeing Benjamin tinker around on the piano reminded me of when I used to attend a comedy show he co-hosted over two decades ago with David Cross and Todd Barry called Tinkle, where he made an audience laugh in a small room (Tinkle used to take place across the river at Pianos on the Lower East Side of Manhattan). And here he was actually performing on a piano in front of me.
Is Benjamin a professional pianist? He is not. But what he lacks in piano training, he makes up for with his humor, confidence, and enthusiasm. As the show came to an end, someone in the audience shouted for an encore. Benjamin quipped that he actually has to leave the stage before one asks for that. He then left moments later and we all shouted for an encore. The band returned and there was a muffled, somewhat lengthy debate on what to play for an encore. Another audience member asked if they take requests, and Jon simply replied “No.” The band finally agreed on something; a one song encore which was a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town,” that featured both whispering and shouting.