Benoir is not really French. (gasp!)

He studied the French language in a Long Island high school, and chose the name Benoit out of the textbook, because there weren't many other names with a cool little symbol that matched Ben.

Benoir likes black and white photos, like the ones of the Blue Note artists in the 1950's. He also enjoys the Film Noir genre, and the color black, which translated to French = noir.

As a child, Benjamin was encouraged to pursue a career as a visual artist, due to his obsession with drawing, and highly developed skills. He won the artist of the year award at the age of 13 out of about 2000 other students. His love for the arts in general led to an admiration for the artist Renoir. This also explains the Benjamin, Benoit, Benoir connection.

One day while playing jazz in the big apple, Ben walked into a club and the band leader shouted "Ben-wah". This was freaky, considering he hadn't yet developed his stage name. This was the catalyst that revived the good ole class nickname Benoit. After handing out demos with this spelling, a film maker (Charles Kramer) suggested that he spell the name with the Noir on the end.

He liked the idea and became Benoir.

Some people hear the name, and say "Ben Black?"

Benoir often replies, "It could mean that, it's open to interpretation."

Why all the noir?

Benrouge just doesn't do it, no matter how much you like that flick Moulin Rouge.