One of the forefathers of contemporary jazz, George Benson’s come a long way from his humble beginnings, working the corner pubs of Pittsburgh. It was during his humble beginnings, though, that a yearning to entertain was born. “I was an entertainer first,” he says proudly; “As a kid I sang, danced and played the ukulele in a nightclub… I’ve had the pleasure of playing with the baddest jazz cats on the planet, but that doesn’t change my desire to entertain folks. That’s really who I am”
The blues solos of Benson’s 1964 debut, The New Boss Guitar, sparkled with a carefully honed logic, and by the time legendary talent scout John Hammond signed him to Columbia, Benson’s name was bubbling throughout the industry. In the late ’60s, he sat in on heady Miles Davis sessions and put a personal spin on tunes from the Beatles’ Abbey Road.
After classics like Beyond the Blue Horizon, different ideas began to flow, and vocals got involved. The result was 1976’s Breezin’, the first jazz record to attain platinum sales. What followed was a series of soulful, scatting solos, pop smashes and sultry numbers: Benson had become a superstar.
Some fans felt snubbed by this new pop success, though. “I guess that’s the biggest crime I’ve made as far as jazz lovers go,” offers Benson. “They don’t always like to see you play for the general public; they want to be catered to. But I’ve tried that approach, and it doesn’t work for me. Nobody can stay one way for 30 years. You learn, you change. The door opened and I walked through it.” By the end of the 1980s, he’d proved that R&B was also a natural part of his profile, won eight Grammies, and performed across the globe.
These days, he’s often spotted out at Manhattan jazz clubs, checking out fledgling guitarists. The most impressive are sometimes invited back to Benson HQ for jam sessions and stylistic powwows (he’s resolute about maintaining sparkle in his playing).
“The younger cats awaken something in me from the early days… When they tell me I’ve still got the chops, I feel great.” Benson’s latest release, Standing Together, not only proves his chops are sharper than ever, but suggests his studio savvy continues to grow. This time around, he’s used elements of hip hop and Caribbean rhythms to keep his personalized R&B on the edgy side.
“I’m not against ear candy,” he chuckles, “but I like mine to be significant.” He’s built a career upon sniffing out what people enjoy hearing and what he enjoys playing. “I had to break a couple rules along the way,” he reflects. “There was an unwritten law: be cool, don’t get too raunchy. The easiest way to involve people is by getting ’em tapping their feet. When they’re tapping a bit, they’ll go your way. That’s when I can float any kind of jazz line into the music. Once the audience knows I respect them, they let me be whatever I want to be.”
George Benson will be performing at the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna, on July 22nd at 7.30 p.m.
Date: July 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Papp László Budapest Sportaréna
1143 Budapest, Stefánia út 2.
Tel.: +36.1.422.2600
www.budapestarena.hu