When you say the name George Benson, a lot of people think of him either as a pop singer or a great jazz guitar player or a smooth-jazz artist. Knowing whether to lean toward the jazz side or the pop side, Waldman said, had been a career issue for Benson: “It’s almost a problem-he’s too good at playing guitar and singing. The audience started screaming for ‘On Broadway.’” That, Waldman said, is what happened one year at the Montreux Jazz Festival: “We started with ‘Take Five’ or something. Sometimes a venue’s audience can confound expectations.
We just know that at a place like, we’re probably going to lean more toward jazz.” “He’s one of the only artists I’ve ever worked with where, as you’re walking onstage, you simply have no idea of the first song you’re going to play. “He’s super loose,” said Waldman, who has been with Benson on and off since the 1980s and backed other singers. It gives me ideas, so I leave them alone.” 1968, Shape Of Things To Come George Benson Issues: A&M SP 3014, A&M SP-9-3014. “I don’t mess with them,” Benson said, “because I like to hear something slightly different. He asserted, for example, that he had little input into O’Neill and de los Reyes’ onstage use of digital tools that add layers to their vocals. More than anything else, he’ll ask you for conviction.”īeyond asking for conviction, Benson professed a generally laissez-faire attitude toward the band, preferring to allow their creative juices to flow unimpeded. Providing the settings is music director and keyboardist Randy Waldman, whose airtight arrangements are executed by Stanley Banks (bass), Thom Hall (keyboards), Michael O’Neill (guitar and vocals), Khari Parker (drums) and Lilliana de los Reyes (percussion and vocals).īanks, who has played with Benson since 1975, said the guitarist was, within limits, flexible when it came to his demands on band members: “He’s going to give you all the room you need, except when he needs to hear a certain thing. On “The Ghetto,” Donny Hathaway’s 1970 manifesto of social relevance, Benson invokes language of the period that excited Scofield back in the day. Brilliant fills and flourishes populate “In Your Eyes” and “Love Ballad.” High-octane octaves turn up the heat in a vamp that closes “Give Me The Night,” while a rubato opening cools things down on the instrumental “Affirmation” (from Breezin’). The album was released on CTI Records in 1974.George Benson’s latest album was recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s in London. (1976) Dave Grusin: One Of A Kind (1977) Bob James: Touchdown Take a look. This fantastic recording was released on the album Bad Benson. Breezin - George Benson 5) Mister Magic - Grover Washington 6) Pleasure. Presented here is George Benson’s takes on Dave Brubeck’s classic number “Take Five.” Listening to George Benson play Brubeck’s memorable piano lick from the song on guitar is simply stunning. # 10 – Take FiveĪs stated in the intro, the first half of our top 10 George Benson songs list will take a look at five killer George Benson songs from his early days as a jazz artist. Of course, there are so many George Benson songs that are missing from this list simply because there is no room for them all, but as in all our top 10 lists, we hope it serves as an introduction for those unfamiliar with George Benson’s songs and as a tribute to those who are. The second half will present some of his huge hits from the 1970s and 80s. The first half of the list will highlight his 1960s and early 70s work as a jazz artist. Our Top 10 George Benson songs list is an attempt to showcase ten George Benson songs split between his jazz and pop careers. George Benson has also performed as a guitarist on close to one hundred and twenty other albums by various artists. Throughout his career, George Benson has released thirty six studio albums while also releasing eight spectacular live albums. His success in the 70’s brought him a mass cultural audience while also earning multiple Grammy Awards and nominations along the way. Instead, he fueled his slick pop music with his impressive virtuoso guitar skills and dynamic abilities into a pop, jazz, r&b soul sound that was celebrated far beyond the jazz world he had earlier belonged too. Yet, he never left his jazz roots completely behind. When digging back into George Benson’s catalog, one will find an artist who began his career in the early 1960s as a jazz artist and then shifted towards the pop world in the mid 1970s. Our Top 10 George Benson songs looks back at the songs of one of the most gifted guitarists and singers of the past 60 years. Photo: Robbie Drexhage, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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