- George Benson: 'My mother taught me how to be a human being'.
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- A conversation with George Benson.
- Audience interaction?
The main thing is the audience. My father started me off with the first few chords and I quickly got into listening and just trying things out. When I was young, I thought I was going to be a scientist, but I guess the closest I got to that was to be a musical scientist.
For about seven years I worked on that particular formula - listening and trying. Did you feel you were compromising in any way? You need people to be listening and to get them to listen, you need to speak in a language that they know. Just a little here and there to make people feel comfortable when I played and then they knew that you were there for them.
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- George Benson on His Evocative New Album, 'Walking to New Orleans' - taira-kousan.com.
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I mean, I could play - I knew that. And I had confidence that I could play, but I had to let them know that I was playing for them.
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How about the singing? You seem to have as much commitment to that and get as much musical satisfaction from it as when you play the guitar My singing career came later - I was almost an old man by then! Now, I had been singing since I was a little boy, but in my mids when I started using my voice seriously, I found myself competing with, basically, youngsters on the pop scene. These were people in their teens and early 20s, and that was in addition to all the established stars, so that was a tough one for me.
You know, whether my phrasing was right and stuff like that. You have to ask yourself that stuff before you go on stage. I guess the answer is that he is all of these things.
George Benson — Still Breezin’
Here are some of my favourites. In no particular order. His tone on this record was for me his best on record up to that point. The relatively large production budget compared to his previous outings probably had something to do with that. Being able to do multiple takes and pay special attention to specific sections of songs translated into a superlative tone and conceptual consistency.
At Benson plays a line that signals the beginning of his solo flight. A series of impeccably grooving triplet figures, slipping sliding legato phrases, perfectly executed double stop and octave passages constitute one of the most perfect guitar solos ever laid down on what was an incredibly popular record.
Millions more people heard this solo than probably several classic jazz albums put together.
George Benson Returns to His Jazz Roots
Worth stealing at least 5 licks from. This Frank Foster penned original is definitely one of them. Benson plays three solos: one after the initial theme that for half of the excursion is purely a scat solo though I wonder if he recorded it while playing guitar and dropped the guitar out of the mix as his phrasing is so guitar-istic , one after the alto and tenor solos that is scat doubling guitar and a third that is a voiceless solo over a shout chorus.
The track is such a great glimpse into what a great connection Benson has between his voice and his hands. Food for thought for any aspiring guitarist.
Be forewarned should you decide to pick up the whole album: the track " Baby Workout " cannot be unheard once heard. My career did blow up to a degree that no-one imagined. As he courted commercial success with a soul-led crossover sound, his smooth vocals and lush arrangements underpinned by insistent grooves, some condemned him for selling out. Forsaking jazz for commercial fame and fortune?
A conversation with George Benson
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