The CTI years provide many fine examples of the Benson method. Spectacular.ДЎ971вЂ™s Beyond the Blue Horizon introduced a heavier element of jazz fusion as Benson covered Miles Davis вЂ“ вЂњSo WhatвЂќ вЂ“ and provided some of his finest tunes to date in a quartet setting that was powered along by Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter вЂ“ an authentic and brilliant listening experience that is worthy of rediscovery. Featuring Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws, Bob James, Herbie Hancock and a host of jazz horn luminaries and string players this five-star release is a marvellous thing: check his version of вЂњHere Comes the SunвЂќ/вЂќI Want You (SheвЂ™s So Heavy)вЂќ. Funk, soul and country permeated his recordings, all extremely well received, but it was his ingenious take on The Beatles, The Other Side of Abbey Road, that turned heads. His 1968 album, Shape of Things to Come, charted and signalled a partnership with producer Creed Taylor that endured until 1976. After a stint working with the producer John Hammond, George moved first to Verve and then A&M. After enjoying a partnership with the jazz organist and organ trio bandleader Jack McDuff, the two worked together on BensonвЂ™s debut, The New Boss Guitar of George Benson with the Brother Jack McDuff Quartet, where the main manвЂ™s love of Hank Garland shone through, as did the fact that five of the cuts were self-composed. As вЂњLittle GeorgieвЂќ he was a mere ten years old when he made his debut recording, a single called вЂњShe Makes Me MadвЂќ for RCA-Victor in New York. The man is, itвЂ™s safe to say, a legend.Д«orn and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania George Benson was seven years old when he played his first impromptu show in a corner drug store in 1950. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to go with those Grammy Awards, six of which are given in recognition of his instrumental prowess. Always a draw in concert, Benson retains a following that delight in his easy rest-stroke plucking and chestnut voice. Hence his most recent album is Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole where he starts off with a rare taped discovery of himself as LilвЂ™ Georgie Benson, tackling вЂњMona LisaвЂќ, then leads an all-star cast, including Wynton Marsalis and Sheila E., on the evergreen вЂњUnforgettable.вЂќ In fact star names often figure as treasured guests when a George Benson disc is under discussion and the musical world is his oyster as he tackles anything everything from The BeatlesвЂ™ Abbey Road to Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & The Papas and his beloved Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. as played by a master guitarist that no one even talks about anymore.ДЇor more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory stay tuned to From the Vaults.Stylistically George Benson has covered all his natural bases and often returns to his first loves. So here for you is the original version of Breezin'. seven years after Szabo had recorded it for his High Contrast album (with Womack on guitar, bassist Phil Upchurch, drummer Jim Keltner and others). In fact he was livid when George Benson adopted wholesale his style and arrangement of Bobby Womack's Breezin' and took it to the charts in '76. Yet his sound lives on, but not in a way that he would especially enjoy. Perhaps that low profile in his last decade-plus explains why he has slipped below the consciousness of many jazz listeners. He died while back in Hungary in 1982 and had spent much of the Seventies as a studio musician in television in the States. His group First Circle was in the vanguard of fusion. He was named best new guitarist by Down Beat in '64, toured with Charles Lloyd, lead his own group in the late Sixties and incorporated elements of rock, blues and Eastern music alongside the folk influences he grew up with. Szabo studied at Berklee in Boston, played at Newport and in the early Sixties was in Chico Hamilton's group. The Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo - often described as a gypsy musician - was a sophisticated player and composer, as witnessed by those who had success covering his material, not the least Carlos Santana who picked up Szabo's Gypsy Queen.

Breezin george benson carlos santana