George Benson, Albert Hall – review

We just added a tour dates for this summer’s European tour with stops in the UK, Paris, Stuttgart and Hungary.  More information can be found here.

Guitar Man will also be available at iTunes on October 4, 2011 + there will be a special deluxe edition with bonus tracks available only at Best Buy, also on October 4!

Enter your email address above to get a free MP3 download of “Danny Boy” from George’s upcoming album Guitar Man

For Immediate Release – On October 4, 2011, National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master and Grammy-winning legend George Benson brings his guitar to the forefront in his newest album Guitar Man. The 12-song collection includes a mix of jazz and pop standards – some in a combo setting and some solo, but all of them tied together seamlessly by Benson’s soulful and exploratory signature sound. Lending a hand on this recording is a solid team made up of veterans and newcomers alike – pianist Joe Sample, keyboardist and musical director David Garfield, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Harvey Mason. Williams is one of the hottest up-and-coming new artists on the jazz scene. Mason is a regular member of Fourplay, and a studio collaborator with Benson all the way back to Benson’s 1976 blockbuster album, Breezin’.

In a career that spans five decades, more than 30 recordings as a leader and ten Grammy Awards, Benson has used his jazz roots as the foundation for an engaging mix of pop, R&B and other shades that add up to a style that appeals to a broad mainstream audience. Along the way, he has also established himself as a formidable jazz singer – one whose biggest career hits have showcased his vocals. But Guitar Man is just what the title implies – an album that highlights Benson’s unparalleled guitar playing, perhaps more than any other album he has released in decades.

For the new project, the crew came together in the studio with a minimum of prior rehearsal time but an eagerness to jump in and lay down tracks in something very close to the live experience – what Benson describes as an “old school” approach. The impromptu sensibility comes across in the final product, much of which came together with minimal takes in a single day of recording.

“We figured that we would get the best energy if we went into the studio with some live musicians who are savvy and flexible,” says Benson, “and boy, did we accomplish that.”

On Guitar Man, Benson’s mastery of the guitar is demonstrated in a variety of styles and settings, all with legendary jazz roots. The opening track “Tenderly” is a solo guitar track that serves as a reminder that Benson is one guitar man with sufficient technical and interpretive skills to be a band unto himself. The second song is an intriguing rendition of Lennon and McCartney’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” Along with Benson on nylon-string guitar and Garfield on piano are guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Ray Fuller; bassist Freddie Washington; drummer Oscar Seaton, Jr. (who regularly tours with Benson); violinist Charlie Bisharat; and flutist/clarinetist Dan Higgins. All come together to create a fully orchestrated sound that casts one of the most simplistic of the Beatles’ early love ballads into something full-bodied and engaging.

The remainder of the set consists of either solo guitar tracks or Benson backed by the aforementioned five-man team, which lays down an easygoing rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour.” Benson delivers the lyrics in his own engaging vocal style that includes a healthy dose of his trademark scatting guitar accompaniment.

Other highlights include a rollicking version of the Champs’ 1958 instrumental hit, “Tequila,” followed a couple tracks later by “My One and Only Love,” which opens with a 16-bar solo jazz guitar intro that segues into a sweet vocal ballad. Benson delivers a playful straightahead rendition of “Paper Moon” with the quartet, followed by a solo guitar rendition of “Danny Boy” (one of the few times, if ever, that a guitar sounds like bagpipes). In the final stretch, Benson and Garfield set up a lush guitar-and-piano arrangement of the smoky standard, “Since I Fell For You,” with Benson once again stepping up to the mic for an emotional delivery of the song’s impassioned lyrics.

Benson has never been one to shy away from innovation or experimentation. For this guitar man, putting a jazz spin on pop standards – not just on this recording but throughout his career – is less of a taboo when you’re willing to dispense with labels and the limitations that come with them.

“People categorize things because they need to find someplace to put them on their shelf,” he says. “It’s all music to me. I think a lot of pop tunes that were very big in the United States many years ago were recorded by jazz musicians playing in the background. Most of the Motown records were recorded that way. Those guys were jazz musicians who were living in Detroit and were called to do a job, and they did it very well…I try to do the same thing. I try to make it sound like it’s natural, because to me it is. There are only two kinds of music, good and bad. There are a lot of things in between, but they’re eventually going to fall on one side or the other of that equation.”

George Benson will be touring in support of Guitar Man. The live shows will feature Benson’s masterful guitar playing, and Benson and his band will be performing classic George Benson hits along with an acoustic presentation of a few songs from Guitar Man.

Confirmed dates below (additional dates TBA):

Oct. 1 – Austin, TX – The Riverbend Centre

Oct. 2 – St. Louis, MO – Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of MO

Oct. 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Sage Court, JW Marriott

Oct. 16 – Atlanta, GA – Symphony Hall

Oct. 19 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen Performing Arts Center

Oct. 20 – Morristown, NJ – Morristown Civic Center

Oct. 21 – New York City, NY – Town Hall

Oct. 23 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre

Click here for a  free download of “Danny Boy” from Guitar Man.

We are currently finalizing a summer tour throughout Europe and Africa along with a run of dates in Australia this November.  New dates can be found here.

A charismatic George Benson thrilled journalists with stories, speaking openly and with ease on his arrival at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, taking a trip down memory lane.

He described his earliest days as a musician, as a “speed-demon” guitarist, and traced how it was that he learnt to slow down.

“I see a whole new South Africa. It’s nice to see the sun shining on a lot of people’s faces here, it’s a warm feeling and a whole fresh new vibe.”

Benson was honoured with an official multi-platinum award from Universal Music for Africa for sales of more than half-a-million units and a gold award from Warner Music Gallo for the Givin’ It Up album he recorded with Al Jarreau.

“I told my manager to call Al Jarreau and let him know that something very special is going to go down in South Africa and congratulate him, so can I take that back to him? I really thank you for this award.”

With a sold-out Cape Town jazz festival, more than 16 000 jazz fanatics were due to attend the first night of the festival last night, where Benson was to play with a 28-piece orchestra in a tribute to Nat King Cole.

“(Cole) brought a lot of class to African-American musicians, at the time going through some challenges in the US. His music was some of the biggest crossover of his time, and it’s still fresh and high-class today.”

Benson is one of the few musicians who get to play on both days of the festival. One of his musical highlights, he says, was being commended by Sinatra.

“I found out he was a gigantic fan of my voice. I was like, ‘Can anybody say anything else to me now’?”

For more info click here.