James Arnold Bennington (born May 22, 1970 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American jazz drummer and avant-garde musician based in Chicago, Illinois.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970, James Bennington lived in Detroit, Michigan until 1978 when he relocated to Houston, Texas.

He began music studies on clarinet while attending Elementary School before switching to drums at age thirteen.

Bennington studied with Elvin Jones for ten years beginning in 1994 and served as band manager / drum tech from 2000–2002 on tours in the U.S. and Europe.

Most notably, Bennington was a featured performer at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge, and the Tampon-Galerie in Paris,France in 2008.