GEORGE BENSON
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
GEORGE BENSON
Official George Benson Site
Official George Benson Site|
George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz
history, but he is also an amazingly versatile musician - and that
frustrates critics to no end who would paint him into a narrow bop
box. He can play in just about any style - from swing to bop to
R&B to pop - with supreme taste, a beautiful rounded tone, terrific
speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and always, an
unquenchable urge to swing. His inspirations may have been
Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery - and he can do dead-on
impressions of both - but his style is completely his own. Not only
can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to
soloists and
a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format. Yet Benson can also sing in a lush
soulful
tenor
with mannerisms similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway - and it is his voice
that
has
proved to be more marketable to the public than his guitar. Benson is the guitar-playing
equivalent of
Nat Cole - a fantastic pianist whose smooth way with a pop vocal eventually eclipsed his
instrumental
prowess in the marketplace - but unlike Cole, Benson has been granted enough time after his
fling with
the pop charts to reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.
Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in nightclubs at eight, recording four sides for RCA's "X" label in 1954, forming a rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure to records by Christian, Montgomery and Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenaged Benson was playing in Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group 1965, Benson became another of talent scout John Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly-regarded albums of soul jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others, including Miles Davis' Miles In The Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and shortly after the death of Montgomery in June 1968, producer Creed Taylor began recording Benson with larger ensembles on A&M (1968-69) and big groups and all-star combos on CTI (1971-1976). While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, the mass market didn't catch on until he began to emphasize vocals after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His first album for WB, Breezin', became a Top 10 hit on the strength of its sole vocal track "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me The Night. As the '80s wore on, though, Benson's albums became riddled with commercial formulas and inferior material, with his guitar almost entirely relegated to the background. Perhaps aware of the futility of chasing the charts (after all, "This Masquerade" was a lucky accident), Benson reversed his field late in the `80s to record a fine album of standards, Tenderly, and another with the Basie band, his guitar now featured more prominently. His pop-flavored work also improved noticeably in the `90s. Benson retains the ability to spring surprises on his fans and critics, like his dazzlingly idiomatic TV appearance and subsequent record date with Benny Goodman in 1975 in honor of John Hammond, and his awesome command of the moment at several Playboy Jazz Festivals in the 1980s. His latter-day recordings include the 1998 effort Standing Together and 2000's Absolute Benson. -- Richard S. Ginell |
|
|
01. Shadow Dancers
02. The sweet Alice Blues 03. I Don't Know 04. Just Another Sunday 05. Will You Still Be Mine? 06. Easy Living 07. Rock-A-Bye |
08. Hot Barbecue
09. Party's Over 10. Briar Patch 11. Hippy Dip 12. 601 1/2 North Poplar St. 13. Cry Me a River 14. Three Day Thang |
|
01. Shadow Dancers
02. Sweet Alice Blues 03. I Don't Know 04. Just Another Sunday |
05. Will You Still Be Mine
06. Easy Living 07. Rock-a-bye 08. My Three Sons |
|
01. Stormy Weather
02. Summertime 03. Ain't That Peculiar 04. Jaguar 05. Willow Weep for Me 06. Foggy Day |
07. Hello Birdie
08. Bullfight 09. Clockwise 10. Eternally 11. Myna Bird Blues |
|
01. Clockwise
02. Myna Bird Blues 03. Willow Weep for Me 04. Stormy Weather 05. Cooker 06. Borgia Stick |
07. Ode to a Kudu
08. Take Five 09. I Remember Wes 10. Good King Bad 11. Summertime 12. From Now On |
|
01. Cooker
02. Benny's Back 03. Bossa Rocka 04. All of Me 05. Farm Boy |
06. Benson's Rider
07. Bayou 08. Borgia Stick 09. Return of the Prodigal Son 10. Jumpin' with Symphony Sid |
|
01. Along Comes Mary
02. Sunny 03. What's New 04. Giblet Gravy 05. Walk on By 06. Thunder Walk |
07. Sack of Woe
08. Groovin' 09. Low Down and Dirty 10. Billie's Bounce 11. What's New 12. What's New, p. 2 |
|
01. Billie's Bounce
02. Low Down and Dirty 03. That Lucky Old Sun 04. Thunder Walk |
05. Doobie Doobie Blues
06. What's New? 07. I Remember Wes |
|
01. Footin' It
02. Face It Boy, It's Over 03. Shape of Things to Come 04. Chattanooga Choo Choo |
05. Don't Let Me Lose This Dream
06. Shape of Things That Are and Were 07. Last Train to Clarksville |
|
01. I Remember Wes
02. Carnaval Joys 03. Song for My Father 04. Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like) |
05. Windmills of Your Mind
06. That Lucky Old Sun 07. Doobie Doobie Blues |
|
01. Soul Limbo
02. Are You Happy 03. Tell It Like It Is 04. Land of 1000 Dances 05. Jackie, All 06. Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' to Ya |
07. Water Brother
08. My Woman's Good to Me 09. Jama Joe 10. My Cherie Amour 11. Out in the Cold Again |
|
01. Golden Slumbers/You Never Give Me Your Money
02. Because/Come Together 03. Oh! Darling |
04. Here Comes the Sun/I Want You
05. Something/Octopus's Garden/The End |
|
01. I Got a Woman
02. Out of the Blue 03. Bluesadelic 04. Durham's Turn 05. Good Morning, Blues |
06. I Worry 'Bout You
07. Without Her 08. She Went a Little Bit Farther 09. Goodbye, Columbus |
|
01. So What
02. Gentle Rain 03. All Clear 04. Ode to a Kudu |
05. Somewhere in the East
06. All Clear 07. Ode to a Kudu 08. Somewhere in the East |
|
01. White Rabbit
02. Theme from Summer of '42 03. Little Train |
04. California Dreamin'
05. El Mar |
|
01. Love for Sale
02. There Will Never Be Another You |
03. All Blues
04. The Masquerade Is Over |
|
01. Witchcraft
02. Blue Bossa |
03. Oleo
04. Lil' Darlin |
|
01. Body Talk
02. Top of the World 03. Dance |
04. When Love Has Grown
05. Plum 06. Body Talk(Reprise) |
|
01. Take Five
02. Summer Wishes/Winter Dreams 03. My Latin Brother 04. No Sooner Said Than Done |
05. Full Compass
06. Changing World 07. Take the "A" Train 08. Serbian Blue |
|
01. Introduction
02. Take Five 03. Summertime |
04. Gone
05. Sky Dive 06. Octane |
|
01. Theme from Good King Bad
02. One Rock Don't Make No Boulder 03. Em 04. Cast Your Fate to the Wind |
05. Siberian Workout
06. Shell of a Man 07. Hold on, I'm Comin' |
|
01. Breezin'
02. This Masquerade 03. Six to Four |
04. Affirmation
05. So This Is Love? 06. Lady |
|
01. Flute Song
02. Beyond the Ozone 03. Camel Hump |
04. Rolling Home
05. Old Devil Moon |
|
01. Nature Boy
02. Wind and I 03. World Is a Ghetto |
04. Gonna Love You More
05. Valdez in the Country 06. Everything Must Change |
|
01. Cast Your Fate to the Wind
02. Siberian Workout 03. Shell of a Man |
04. Theme from Good King Bad
05. One Rock Don't Make No Boulder 06. Em |
|
01. Livin' Inside Your Love
02. Hey Girl 03. Nassau Day 04. Soulful Strut 05. Prelude to Fall 06. Change Is Gonna Come |
07. Love Ballad
08. You're Never Too Far from Me 09. Love Is a Hurtin' Thing 10. Welcome into My World 11. Before You Go 12. Unchained Melody |
|
01. Greatest Love of All
02. Down Here on the Ground 03. Ode to a Kudu 04. We as Love 05. California P.M. 06. Lady Blue |
07. We All Remember Wes
08. Windsong 09. On Broadway 10. It's All in the Game 11. Weekend in L.A. |
|
01. Feel Like Makin' Love
02. Inside Love (So Personal) 03. Lady Love Me (One More Time) 04. Love Will Come Again 05. In Your Eyes |
06. Never Too Far to Fall
07. Being with You 08. Use Me 09. Late at Night 10. In Search of a Dream |
|
01. Love X Love
02. Off Broadway 03. Moody's Mood 04. Give Me the Night 05. What's on Your Mind? |
06. Dinorah, Dinorah
07. Love Dance 08. Star of a Story (X) 09. Midnight Love Affair 10. Turn out the Lamplight |
|
01. No One Emotion
02. Please Don't Walk Away 03. I Just Wanna Hang Around You 04. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You 05. Beyond the Sea |
06. 20/20
07. New Day 08. Hold Me 09. Stand Up 10. You Are the Love of My Life |
|
01. While the City Sleeps
02. Kisses in the Moonlight 03. Shiver 04. Love Is Here Tonight |
05. Teaser
06. Secrets in the Night 07. Too Many Times 08. Did You Hear the Thunder |
|
01. MT. Airy Road
02. Mimosa 03. Brazilian Stomp 04. Dreamin' |
05. Since You're Gone
06. Collaboration 07. Jamaica 08. Love Theme from "Romeo & Juliet" |
|
01. Twice The Love
02. Starting All Over 03. Good Habit 04. Everybody Does It 05. Living On Borrowed Love |
06. Let's Do It Again
07. Stephanie 08. Tender Love 09. You're Still My Baby 10. Until You Believe |
|
01. You Don't Know What Love Is
02. Stella by Starlight 03. Stardust 04. At the Mambo Inn |
05. Here, There and Everywhere
06. This Is All I Ask 07. Tenderly 08. I Could Write a Book |
|
01. Without a Song
02. Ready Now That You Are 03. How Do You Keep the Music Playing? 04. On Green Dolphin Street 05. Baby Workout |
06. I Only Have Eyes for You
07. Portrait of Jennie 08. Walkin' My Baby Back Home 09. Skylark 10. Basie's Bag |
|
01. Clockwise
02. Ain't That Peculiar 03. Hello Birdie 04. Eternally 05. Myna Bird Blues |
06. Cooker
08. Benny's Back 09. Return of the Prodigal Son 10. Ready 'n Able |
|
01. I'll Be Good to You
02. Got to Be There 03. My Heart Is Dancing 04. Love of My Life 05. Kiss and Make Up 06. Come into My World |
07. Love Remembers
08. Willing to Fight 09. Somewhere Island 10. Lovin' on Barrowed Time 11. Lost in Love 12. Calling You |
|
01. Clockwise
02. Summertime 03. Ain't That Peculiar 04. Jaguar 05. Willow Weep for Me 06. Foggy Day |
07. Hello Birdie
08. Bullfight 09. Stormy Weather 10. Eternally 11. Myna Bird Blues |
|
01. Witchcraft
02. Blue Bossa |
03. Oleo
04. Lil Darlin' |
|
01. That's Right
02. Thinker 03. Marvin Said 04. True Blue 05. Holdin' On |
06. Song for My Brother
07. Johnnie Lee 08. Summer Love 09. P Park 10. Footprints in the Sand |
|
01. C-Smooth
02. Standing Together 03. All I Know 04. Cruise Control 05. Poquito Spanish, Poquito Funk |
06. Still Waters
07. Fly by Night 08. Back to Love 09. Keep Rollin' |
|
01. Love for Sale
02. Masquerade Is Over |
03. There Will Never Be Another You
04. All Blues |
|
01. Masquerade Is Over
02. Blue Bossa 03. All the Things You Are |
04. Invitation
05. Love Walked In 06. Dahlin's Delight |
|
01. Love for Sale
02. Masquerade Is Over 03. There Will Never Be Another You 04. All Blues 05. Witchcraft 06. Blue Bossa |
07. Oleo
08. Lil Darlin' 09. All the Things You Are 10. Invitation 11. Love Walked In 12. Darlin's Delight |
|
01. Ghetto
02. El Barrio 03. Jazzenco 04. Deeper Than You Think 05. One on One |
06. Hipping the Hop 07. Lately 08. Come Back Baby 09. Medicine Man |
