Breezin george benson bass
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I was pretty much a flat-out guitar player at the time. “What's New?“ – George Benson, Giblet Gravy (1968) I’m a mixed bag of all those people.”īelow, Benson shares some stories about the recording of five especially noteworthy tracks from his remarkable career. Wes Montgomery was a big favorite of mine. King, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, Barney Kessel… And of course, there’s Tal Farlow, Hank Garland, and Grant Green. “I studied everybody – Charlie Christian, B.B. “I kind of take from everybody and it comes out like me,” he says modestly. Starting in the mid ’70s, Benson’s golden singing voice – he actually started out as a vocalist, performing in clubs at the age of eight – landed him on AM radios, but nearly a decade before, he established his reputation as a supremely tasteful instrumental craftsman whose warm tone, effortless speed, (you never got the feeling he was sweatin’ it) and hook-filled phrasing combined to form an instantly recognizable signature sound. “They said, ‘Man, we loved what you did with our music.’ After that, I was glad I made the record.” Breezin' remains an easily accessible introduction to jazz newbies.He adds that his wounds healed quickly once he heard from the Beatles themselves.
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Unlike many of the smooth artists of today, his talents have never forsaken his straighter roots. But what is significant in the year 2001 is that underneath all that production is an extremely talented guitarist. His vocals on the "This Masquerade" turned the one time Wes Montgomery protege into a pop star. Synthesizers, electric pianos, and lush orchestration feed into the polyester and Dacron worlds of the disco era. In the late seventies, as well as today LiPuma understood the devices needed to sell jazz to a larger audience than to hard-core jazz fans. He enlisted a 40-piece string section for sounds that were lingua franca to the disco audiences and such a large part of today's smooth jazz. Jazz musicians, even those we, of the elitist jazz snob schools, look down on, can lead adventurous (and even semi-adventurous) listeners back through history and more importantly prepare them for the inevitable changes the future of jazz will bring.īenson's Breezin relied heavily on producer Tommy LiPuma's tastes in popular music and choice of musicians to accentuate Benson's jazz talents. These musicians provided the sounds of my college years, but also directed me to my future studies in the respected churches of Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. Actually I stayed with all things current of the time including Weather Report, Tom Scott, and of course Grover Washington Jr. I was intrigued by his cover of Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce," and started buying Parker LPs. I found an old (now out-of-print) George Benson record called Benson Burner (1965) where he played soul jazz and bebop. All three piqued my interest, and I followed Mangione back to Art Blakey and Jarreau's version of "Take Five" was my ticket to Brubeck. I was also listening to Chuck Mangione and Al Jarreau.
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Nonetheless, this Bruce Springsteen rock fan fell for Benson's bluesy guitar sound and wordless vocals. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon his release Breezin', maybe it was its triple-platinum sales or maybe its three Grammy awards. Thanks to George Benson sometime in 1977 I became a jazz fan.