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George Benson biography,
concert and CD reviews
Sheet music
by George Benson.
Article added in June
2000
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1943, guitarist and singer George Benson started
to sing in a local nightclub when he was only eight years old. As a guitarist, Benson's primary influences were Charlie
Christian and Wes Montgomery. In 1962, organist Jack McDuff hired
the 19-year-old Benson as an accompanying musician. Two years later followed his first album as a
group leader, the hard bop and soul-inspired The New Boss Guitar. It was
followed by others in 1965 and 1966, produced by John Hammond.
George Benson calls Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and Hank Garland
his guitar heroes. In the late 60s, Benson worked on heady Miles Davis
sessions and also put a personal spin on the tunes from the
Beatles' Abbey Road. In 1970, he was united with many of jazz's finest instrumentalists,
including Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, and Freddie Hubbard.
He recorded classic albums such as Beyond the Blue Horizon. From hard bop and collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Tony
Bennett, Quincy Jones and many others to R&B (Give Me The Night, Turn
Your Love Around), soul and pop, George Benson excels in a variety of
musical fields. In the 60s and 70s, he got worldwide recognition as a jazz
musician. But his superstardom began with his 1976-album Breezin'
that won him the Record of the Year Grammy. Breezin', which soared to #1 on the pop
charts in America,
was the first jazz record to attain platinum sales. The album also contained
the Leon Russell-song This Masquerade on which George Benson scats to
his guitar play. It won him another Grammy in 1976.
In total, George Benson has collected eight Grammies in his career. His
awards include: Best Pop Instrumental Performance (1976),
Theme from Good King Bad-Best Rhythm & Blues Instrumental Performance (1976),
On Broadway-Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (1978),
Give Me The Night-Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (1980),
Off Broadway-Best R&B Instrumental Performance (1980),
Moody's Mood-Best Jazz Vocal Performance (1980),
Being With You-Best Pop Instrumental Performance (1983),
and, in 1990, he was awarded the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music from
Boston's Berklee College of
Music.
After This Masquerade followed other successes with his versions of The Greatest Love of
All, On Broadway, Give Me The Night and Turn Your Love
Around. He emphasized his vocals in the late 1970s and the 1980s. In the
1990s, Benson rejoined producer Li Puma and concentrated again on jazz. In 1996
the album That's Right was released and Standing
Together followed in 1998. The album contained R&B and pop singing, hip hop and Caribbean
rhythms. - -
Sheet music
by George Benson. - CDs by George Benson at Amazon.com .
Absolute Benson
album, 2000
George Benson's latest release, Absolute Benson (2000), is
basically an instrumental
album. Only three of the nine songs (song number ten is an unnecessary and
monotonous remix of number two, El Barrio) contain vocals: his rendition of Ray Charles'
Come Back Baby, Benson's Latin-flavored El Barrio and the remake of the late
Donny Hathaway's soul classic The Ghetto. Benson's distinctive
guitar playing dominates the album. Although not
groundbreaking, Absolute Benson is a convincing album. Besides the
remix of El Barrio, only the blues written by Ray Charles, Come Back
Baby, is no joy to listen to. Absolute Benson is a contemplative
and relaxing background music album with great compositions such as Jazzenco,
Deeper Than You Think, Lately or Medicine Man. In fact,
one has to mention all tunes (except the mentioned tracks eight and ten). On
his new album, George Benson is joined by bassist Christian McBride, who represents
the younger jazz generation. The pianist and keyboardist Joe Sample, who was a founding member of The Crusaders,
and the drummer Steve Gadd are jazz veterans. Percussionist Luis Conte, drummer Cindy
Blackman and organist and keyboardist Ricky Peterson are the other musicians
on the album. Among the special guest musicians to record The Ghetto and
El Barrio are Carlos Henriquez, bass, Vidal Davis, drums, Luisito Quintero,
percussion. Claudia Acuña, Lisa Fischer and India provide the backing vocals. Richard Shade and Roy
Ayers are the male backing vocals on The Ghetto.
Get the CD Absolute
Benson from Amazon.com.
- George
Benson sheet music / Musiknoten.
Absolute Benson, 2000.
Get it from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk.
Talkin' Verve, 1968 (1997).
Get it from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk.
Breezin' (This
Masquerade), 1976. Get it from Amazon.com.
That's Right, 1996.
Get it from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk.
Standing Together, 1998.
Get it from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk.
Giblet Gravy, 1968.
Re-released in 2000.
Get it from Amazon.com
or
Amazon.co.uk.
Sheet music
by George Benson. - CDs by George Benson at Amazon.com.
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Added on February 25, 2012: New album by George Benson
released in October 2011: Guitar Man. Concord Jazz. CD Order it from
Amazon.com or
Amazon.de.
Sheet music
by George Benson.
Added on November 9, 2009
George Benson's album Songs and Stories
George Benson's latest album Songs and Stories offers what the title
promises. Twelve songs and stories written by songwriters and storytellers
including James Taylor, Rod Temperton, Catero Colbert, David Pach, Steve
Lukather, Bill Withers, Roger Trautman, Marcus Miller, Tony Joe White, William
Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier and others. George Benson's soulful, warm voice
offers both entertainment and thoughts. My favorite song is Come in from the
Cold. An elegant and quiet album. Decca, September 2009. Order the CD or MP3
songs from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.de
or
Amazon.co.uk.
Article moved here from Cosmopolis No. 9 of September 1,
2000 (move made on November 9, 2009)
George Benson:
biography and review of his concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival
George Benson was born in Pittsburgh, PA, in
1943. At the age of 8, he began to sing in a local nightclub. His
stepfather, Thomas Collier, taught him to play the ukulele and, later, gave him
a guitar. Among George's early musical influences were Charlie Christian
and Wes Montgomery. But as a teenager, he played in a rock 'n' roll band before
he returned to jazz. From 1962 to 1965, George was part of Jack McDuff's band
which played a rocking blues. In 1964 Benson recorded his first album as a
leader. The New Boss Guitar was inspired by hard bop and soul. More
records, produced by John Hammond, followed in 1965 and 1966.
As other models on guitar, Benson
mentions Django Reinhardt and Hank
Garland. In the late 1960s, George worked with Miles Davis (Miles
in the Sky) and even the Beatles, on their album Abbey Road,
were he played the guitar. From early days on, it was clear, he would
transgress musical genres.
1968 was an excellent vintage for George Benson. The Album Giblet Gravy,
just re-released, unites some of his very best tunes: his version of Sunny,
the title song Giblet Gravy, the ballad Walk on By, Tunder
Walk, Sack on Woe, Groovin', Low Down and Dirty as
well as the classic tune Billie's Bouce. In short: this is one of the
CDs to buy!
Get it from Amazon.com
or from Amazon.co.uk.
Also recorded in 1968 is Shape Of Things To Come (check our German music
page), an album of quieter tunes. Besides the title song, Face It Boy, It's Over
and Don't
Let Me Lose This Dream are convincing. The classic Chattanooga
Choo Choo is by no means bad and Last Train To
Clarksville is a pleasant country and western composition. The album Talkin' Verve (1997)
is also dedicated to 1968 and contains songs from the albums Giblet Gravy
and Goodies. Among them are at least six sensational recordings: Thunder Walk, Song For My
Father, Groovin', The Windmills of Your Mind, Giblet
Gravy and Doobie, Doobie Blues. Another must. Get it from
Amazon.com or from Amazon.co.uk.
Another album without kitsch and syrup is Verve Jazz Masters, Vol. 21: George Benson (1994),
which unites titles from 1968 and 1969 (check again our German music
page to buy it). Among the songs are Thunder
Walk and Shape Of Things To Come, Sack O' Woe,
What's New? and a refreshing version of the classic tune Tuxedo
Junction.
In 1970, George Benson played with
outstanding jazz musicians such as Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter and
Freddie Hubbard. Among the classic albums he recorded with them is Beyond the Blue Horizon. Benson
played hard bop with Herbie Hancock, accompanied Tony Bennett and performed
together with Quincy
Jones. Besides jazz, Benson also played R&B, soul and pop. His career
reached its climax in 1976 with the Breezin', which won a Grammy as
best album of the year. The title song was the first jazz recording to
soar to #1 in the pop charts in America and established Benson as a superstar.
The album's song This Masquerade, written by Leon Russell, owes its
success to Benson's scat singing and guitar playing. It won him a second
Grammy in 1976 (Get
the CD from Amazon.com). For Theme
from Good King Bad Benson won a third Grammy as Best R&B Instrumental
Performance in 1976.
After This Masquerade followed
another hits with his versions of The Greatest Love of All, On Broadway, Give Me The
Night and Turn Your Love Around. In the late 1970s and the
1980s, Benson stressed his singing. In 1990, he reunited with producer Li Puma
and the concentrated more on jazz. That year, Benson was awarded a doctor
honoris causa in music by the famous Berklee College of Music in
Boston.
In 1996, Benson's too simplistic album That's Right
was released. It offers cheap entertainment, kitsch at its worst, maybe
with the sole exception of the title Johnnie Lee. An album to
forget. Two years later followed the record Standing Together.
Besides R&B and Pop, it contains Caribbean rhtyhms (Poquito
Spanish, Poquito Funk) and is worth while listening to, a calm and
relaxing ballad-album which favorably distinguishes itself from the
plastic music of That's Right. Get Standing Together from Amazon.com
or from Amazon.co.uk.
George Benson's latest CD, Absolute
Benson (2000), is largely an instrumental album. Benson sings only on
three of the nine titles (number ten is an unnecessary and monotone remix
of number two, El Barrio): on his version of Ray
Charles' Come Back Baby, on the Latin flavored El Barrio
written by Benson and on the remake of the
soul classic The Ghetto
by Donny Hathaway. Benson's unique guitar sound dominates Absolute Benson,
which is no revolutionary CD, but contains in a way the quintessence of
his almost forty years in show business. The only title performed to be
below average is the blues Come Back Baby, written by Ray Charles.
The contemplative and relaxing album contains (in the best sense) an ideal
background sound and some outstanding compositions such as Jazzenco, Deeper Than You Think, Lately
and Medicine Man. On Absolute Benson, Benson is accompanied
by bassist Christian McBride, who represents the younger generation of
jazz musicians. Jazz veterans like pianist and keyboarder Joe Sample, a
founder of the Crusaders, and drummer Steve Gadd are part of the album.
The band is completed by percussionist Luis
Conte, female drummer Cindy Blackman and organist and keyboarder
Ricky Peterson. Guest stars on Absolute Benson are, for the titles The
Ghetto and El Barrio, Carlos Henriquez, bass, Vidal Davis,
drums, Luisito Quintero, percussion, and Claudia Acuña, Lisa
Fischer and India as background singers. Richard Shade and Roy Ayers
deliver the male background vocals on The Ghetto. R&B, blues, soul,
Latin-jazz and scat-songs, Absolute Benson offers all one expects
from an album by George Benson. Get
it from Amazon.com
or from Amazon.co.uk.
Concert review: George Benson at the Montreux Jazz Festival
in Switzerland, July 18, 2000
George Benson: voc, g
Thom Hall: kbds
Dio Sacedo: perc, voc
Michael O'Neil: g, voc
David Whitman: kbds
Michael White: dr
Stanley Banks: b
Right from the beginning, George Benson
made it clear that this would be no Verve-jazz-evening. Already in his guest
appearance with the sensational Diana
Krall, who had performed right before him in the sold out Auditorium Stravinsky,
Benson had dominated with inimitable R&B and soul style. He began his
concert with the Seal and Dubin composition Standing
Together, the title song from his 1998 album. For the following
instrumentals Collaboration
and Lately (by Stevie Wonder), he took up his guitar. The result
was a too easy-listening beginning, almost a shock in comparison with the
artistic heights Diana Krall had reached before him. But the majority of
the audience had come for George Benson and more than simply appreciated
his performance. But even critics had to admit that at least when he
played his mega-hit Breezin', written by Bobby Womack, which Benson
ended with a solo-scat, a sensational party had began. The sound was still
a little bit too loud and with some of the - all well established and
renowned - musicians one wondered whether they would survive unplugged.
But the soulful Turn Your Love Around pleased despite the high
volume. Benson's qualities as a live performer are unquestionable.
In Somewhere Beyond The Sea by Charles Trenet,
Benson carried away the audience with his swinging jazz-pop. It was
followed by the ballad In Your Eyes. The longer he played, the clearer it
became that the guitarist and singer knows how to put a program together.
From his latest album, Absolute
Benson, he performed The Ghetto and
El Barrio in a medley. After funky tunes he offered his
interpretation of Ray Charles' famous ballad Georgia On My Mind.
Benson's singing was at the top, but the band's sound was less convincing,
always a touch too cheap. That is also true for Chuck Berry's Little Sweet
Sixteen rock 'n' roll tune, which followed afterwards.
In Deeper Than You Think, the
keyboard player was impressive, besides the always stunning Benson with his
guitar. The concert became better and better. Cleverly arranged, one hit
followed the other. The hit Masquerade, with Benson's scat singing
and the outstanding keyboard player agian, fired the audience. As the band
followed up with Give Me The Night, the Auditorium Stravinsky
was out of control. As encores, the musicians offered Never Give Up On A Good Thing, The
Greatest Love Of All and the funky On Broadway. Once more, George Benson
had proved to be a first class entertainer who knows how to fire an
audience. -
Sheet music
by George Benson. - CDs by George Benson at Amazon.com.
List of the eight Grammies/Grammy Awards won by George Benson
until 2000:
- This Masquerade, Record of the Year, 1976
- Breezin', Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 1976
- Theme from Good King Bad, Best R&B Instrumental Performance,
1976
- On Broadway, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, 1978
- Give Me The Night, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, 1980
- Off Broadway, Best R&B Instrumental Performance, 1980
- Moody's Mood, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, 1980
- Being With You, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 1983
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