George Benson
The bebop virtuoso who carried jazz guitar onto pop radio
George Benson grew up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, a neighborhood steeped in jazz and rhythm and blues. He was performing as a child, singing and strumming a ukulele for tips, and he cut a handful of singles as a boy vocalist before he was a teenager. By his late teens the guitar had become his main voice, and he was absorbing the records of Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery while gigging in local rhythm and blues bands. That early double life as both singer and guitarist would define everything he did later.
In the early 1960s Benson joined organist Brother Jack McDuff's group, a punishing but invaluable apprenticeship in the soul-jazz organ trio tradition. He soon led his own dates, including The New Boss Guitar of George Benson and It's Uptown, which announced a player with blinding speed and deep blues feeling. In 1968 Miles Davis used him on Miles in the Sky, and Benson moved through Verve and A&M, where he recorded The Other Side of Abbey Road, a jazz reimagining of the Beatles' final album.
Signing with Creed Taylor's CTI label brought polished, orchestrated records such as Beyond the Blue Horizon, White Rabbit and Bad Benson, which made him a star among jazz listeners. The real explosion came after he moved to Warner Bros. Breezin', released in 1976, topped the Billboard album chart and became one of the first jazz records to sell platinum, helped by his sung version of This Masquerade, which won the Grammy for Record of the Year. The live Weekend in L.A. followed, featuring his hit reading of On Broadway.
Quincy Jones produced Give Me the Night in 1980, pushing Benson further into sleek R&B and dance music without abandoning his guitar. Through the following decades he alternated between pop albums and straight jazz projects, including a collaboration with Earl Klugh, a big-band record with the Count Basie Orchestra, a duet album with Al Jarreau, and a tribute to his early hero Nat King Cole. He has collected ten Grammy Awards, was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2009, and still tours widely.
The 10 greatest George Benson solos
- 1George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1976
- 2George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1976
- 3George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1978
- 4George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1971
- 5George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1976
- 6George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1972
- 7George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1974
- 8George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1973
- 9Miles Davis · solo by George Benson · 1968
- 10George Benson · solo by George Benson · 1980
The sound
Benson plays with a thick pick and a strongly angled, almost thumb-like attack that gives each note a round, percussive snap, and he can sustain long bebop lines at extraordinary tempos without losing swing. His signature move is singing in unison with his guitar improvisations, scatting the exact notes as he plays them, a trick that became his calling card on stage. From Wes Montgomery he took octave playing and block chords, but he adds faster runs, bluesy bends and a warm, clean hollow-body tone that sits comfortably on both jazz and R&B records.
- Gibson L-5 CES (guitar) A classic archtop he favored in his early jazz years before his signature deal.
- Ibanez GB10 (guitar) His compact signature archtop, introduced in 1977 and his main instrument for decades.
- Ibanez GB200 (guitar) A larger-bodied signature model offering a fuller acoustic voice.
- Ibanez LGB300 (guitar) A later signature archtop used on stage in the 2000s.
- Fender George Benson Hot Rod Deluxe (amp) A signature version of Fender's combo voiced for his clean jazz tone.
Covers
- This Masquerade, originally by Leon Russell He turned a moody songwriter ballad into a Grammy-winning soul-jazz hit.
- On Broadway, originally by The Drifters His live version stretched the doo-wop-era hit into a long, swaggering guitar showcase.
- White Rabbit, originally by Jefferson Airplane Flamenco-flavored arrangements recast the psychedelic anthem as cinematic jazz.
- Take Five, originally by The Dave Brubeck Quartet He brought a relaxed, guitar-led feel to the famous saxophone showcase.
- Affirmation, originally by José Feliciano His instrumental reading became better known than the original.
- Golden Slumbers / You Never Give Me Your Money, originally by The Beatles Part of his track-by-track jazz response to the Beatles' final album.
- Unforgettable, originally by Nat King Cole A tender vocal homage to the singer who inspired him as a child.
Timeline
- 1943 Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 1962 Joins organist Brother Jack McDuff's band
- 1964 Releases his debut as leader, The New Boss Guitar of George Benson
- 1968 Plays on Miles Davis's Miles in the Sky
- 1971 Releases Beyond the Blue Horizon on CTI
- 1976 Breezin' tops the Billboard 200 and goes platinum
- 1977 This Masquerade wins the Grammy for Record of the Year; Ibanez GB10 launched
- 1980 Give Me the Night, produced by Quincy Jones, becomes a global hit
- 2009 Named an NEA Jazz Master
- 2013 Releases Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
Facts
- He recorded singles as a boy singer while still a young child in Pittsburgh.
- His first instrument on stage was a ukulele rather than a guitar.
- Breezin' was one of the first jazz albums ever certified platinum.
- This Masquerade was a hit on the pop, R&B and jazz charts at the same time.
- The Ibanez GB10 is one of the longest-running signature guitar models in history.
- He recorded an entire album answering the Beatles' Abbey Road only weeks after the original came out.
- Miles Davis recruited him for sessions in the late 1960s when electric guitar was still rare in Davis's music.
- He originally recorded The Greatest Love of All in 1977, years before Whitney Houston's famous version.
- He has won ten Grammy Awards across jazz, pop and R&B categories.
- He is famous for scat-singing in exact unison with his own guitar improvisations.