Known for often injecting slapstick and absurdist humor into his performances, Bennink has had especially fruitful long-term partnerships with pianist Misha Mengelberg and saxophonist Peter Brötzmann.

From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, Bennik collaborated closely with Dutch post-punk band The Ex, appearing on their 1995 album Instant and travelling and playing with them on their first tour to Ethiopia.

[3] Bennink's style is wide-ranging, running from conventional jazz drumming to highly unconventional free improvisation, for which he often uses whatever found objects happen to be onstage (chairs, music stands, instrument cases), his own body (a favourite device involves putting a drumstick in his mouth and striking it with the other stick), and the entire performance space—the floor, doors, and walls.

[1] He makes frequent use of birdcalls and whatever else strikes his fancy (one particularly madcap performance in Toronto in the 1990s involved a deafening fire alarm bell placed on the floor).

[4] As leader or co-leader With Ray Anderson and Christy Doran With Gary Bartz, Lee Konitz, Jackie McLean and Charlie Mariano With Paul Bley and Annette Peacock With The Blueprint Project With Anthony Braxton With Steve Beresford With Willem Breuker With Eric Dolphy With Peter Brötzmann With Eric Boeren With Marion Brown With Sean Bergin With Uri Caine With Eugene Chadbourne With Don Cherry With Daniele D'Agaro With Ellery Eskelin With Terrie Ex (and others) With Cor Fuhler and Wilbert De Joode With Frode Gjerstad With Kees Hazevoet With Will Holshouser and Michael Moore With Kazuo Imai With Mikko Innanen and Jaak Sooäär With Instant Composers Pool With Guus Janssen With Steve Lacy With Little Willie Littlefield With Keshavan Maslak With Myra Melford With Misha Mengelberg With Kenny Millions With Pino Minafra With Michael Moore With Simon Nabatov With Armen Nalbandian With Mark O'Leary With Evan Parker With Alessandra Patrucco With Dudu Pukwana With Roswell Rudd With Paul Ruys With Manfred Schoof With Irene Schweizer With Jaak Sooäär With Spring Heel Jack With Aki Takase With Cecil Taylor With Rik van Iersel