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Editorial Reviews
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. 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.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Four and a half SPLENDID Stars. Ten-time Grammy-winning jazz guitar legend George Benson serves up wide-ranging, wonderful renditions of mostly pop, rock, and R&B standards that are delivered in the prime Benson mode of suave vocals, dazzling solo guitar pieces which are marvels of virtuosity, and cohesive group performances which are inventive, funky, and hard-swinging. The 'best of the best' begins with 'Tenderly": a lovely swirling guitar solo with fiery runs that pleads the case for a Benson solo guitar recording. Coltrane's "Naima" begins as a blazing solo guitar exposition that becomes a quartet excursion, with a great David Garfield piano solo. A hard-swinging "Tequila" recalls Wes Montgomery but with those distinctive Benson note clusters and overtones, with a hard backbeat from drummer Harvey Mason and telling interlude from bassist Ben Williams. A beautiful, funky rendition of Rod Temperton's "The Lady In My Life" will remind many of the "Thriller"-era Michael Jackson. A fantastic "Danny Boy" is a distinctive solo with enough grace notes, pizzazz, and pacing to avoid any melancholy, as Benson alludes to multiple guitars. "Since I Fell For You" and "My One and Only Love" are beautifully sung with Joe Sample on piano on the latter. A vamping "Fingerlero" is in the prime-time jazz area code with Benson doing the head and solo in his virturally patented voice/guitar unison manner with Sample soloing inventively on piano. Entering his 6th decade of excellence with over 30 recordings to his credit, George Benson gives us a wonderfully enjoyable recording that had me hitting the repeat button. Encore, Mr Benson! Highly Recommended. Four and a half DYNAMIC Stars! (Based on an mp3 download of 12 tracks; Total time: ~43m:22s)
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
So you looked at my rating and scratched your head or even got really angry and yelled: How dare you? (OK! so it's really four and a half.) The reason I dared to do what I did is simple. The overwhelming dominance of 5-star customer reviews for everything that George Benson ever recorded makes me wonder what it would take for some of those reviewers to ever rate something less than five stars... It must be nice to live in a world where everything is perfect. Undeniably this album is perfect when it comes to the production detail and the technical quality of recording but... when it comes to the choice of repertoire it fails at least twice. Listen to the 1971 White Rabbit (a take on the Jefferson Airplane's repertoire) for example and compare. A ground-breaking visionary recording versus conservation and some recycling. Sorry to say but "My One and Only Love" sounds to me like a cheap imitation of the Coltrane/Hartman's version and so does " Since I Fell For You" of the Al Jarreau's version. "Don't Know Why" is a better take maybe because it's not sung and also it's not an exact copy of the overplayed original. In general all solo guitar and small group tracks come off better than the production numbers with an exception of "Fingerlero" which I thoroughly enjoyed mostly because it had lots of new unexpected twists and turns in Benson's signature sing-n-play unison lines. This album will certainly please every smooth jazz fan on the planet but may not be as satisfying to the ears of those who know George Benson as an explorer of new sounds and a pioneer of the soul-jazz guitar we used to hear on CTI, Verve, Blue Note and Columbia.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have my own thoughts. But only George Benson knows how he can do what he does all these years and still have that great batting average in terms of the quality. After his previous album Songs & Stories,which by the high I very very highly recommend I don't know if I had many expectations there would be another album by him for awhile. In all honesty this came as something of a surprise. When I found out it was a collection of standards I wondered if it would be a cliched project. Well that lasted for one second when I realize that THIS WAS GEORGE BENSON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! And his abilities as an interpretive musician are more than well documented on projects such as his 1969 release Other Side of Abbey Road. Not only that I was delighted to see the song choices he made-realizing there are now many generations of standards to cover,not just one and even including new ones from after the turn of the millennium. By setting the songs up this way he helps us realize that quality music still exists out there. And in HIS hands? Well I'll tell you!
True it's really hard to lose anytime Paul Jackson,Joe Sample,Harvey Mason and Lenny Castro get involved. But this an amazing session. The sound quality is particularly strong! Even though some songs feature either solo performances or a different array of personnel producer John Burk really let go on this one,allowing the production to be wide open and crisp even as Benson makes a killing across amazingly re harmonized solo guitar pieces such as "Tenderly" and "Danny Boy",two highlights. With the full band in tow though,he does the same thing to "I Want To Hold Your Hand" with a great soul-jazz flavor to boot;it's often hard to tell this came from John,Paul,George and Ringo originally-Benson is such a superb improviser on that one. "My Cherie Amour" and his take on Norah Jones "Don't Know Why",but especially as accompanied by the Bossa Nova percussion of Castro on the Stevie Wonder song the flair he gives to the melody is still classic Benson all the way. His take on "The Lady In My Life" though? A whole other thing. Stripping out the heavier production of the original,this is basically a slickly produced live instrumental version-with Benson's elastic guitar playing the role of MJ's elastic vocals.
"Tequila" is a bit of a surprising song but a great party number done up again with more of a funky soul jazz flavor than the hard edged roadhouse rocking R&B of the original. You can really see the musicians are excited and genuinely having fun here. And the fact that it sounds fun doesn't take away from the brilliance of the musicianship. There's an upbeat quartet version of "Paper Moon" along with "Since I Fell For You"-just Benson and David Garfield on piano showcasing that Benson's creamy,elastic voice-always very close to his guitar sound. And the closer with Ronnie Foster's "Fingerlero"? SMOKING SMOKING SMOKING! We're talking serious,melodic latin funk here and it all times out perfect. So in the end this is a terrific album,different in nature from but every bit the equal to his previous album. George Benson's a guy that's always come and gone in terms of releases. But he's been in rare form during this period. Can't wait to hear what the "guitar man" is going to come up with next!
True it's really hard to lose anytime Paul Jackson,Joe Sample,Harvey Mason and Lenny Castro get involved. But this an amazing session. The sound quality is particularly strong! Even though some songs feature either solo performances or a different array of personnel producer John Burk really let go on this one,allowing the production to be wide open and crisp even as Benson makes a killing across amazingly re harmonized solo guitar pieces such as "Tenderly" and "Danny Boy",two highlights. With the full band in tow though,he does the same thing to "I Want To Hold Your Hand" with a great soul-jazz flavor to boot;it's often hard to tell this came from John,Paul,George and Ringo originally-Benson is such a superb improviser on that one. "My Cherie Amour" and his take on Norah Jones "Don't Know Why",but especially as accompanied by the Bossa Nova percussion of Castro on the Stevie Wonder song the flair he gives to the melody is still classic Benson all the way. His take on "The Lady In My Life" though? A whole other thing. Stripping out the heavier production of the original,this is basically a slickly produced live instrumental version-with Benson's elastic guitar playing the role of MJ's elastic vocals.
"Tequila" is a bit of a surprising song but a great party number done up again with more of a funky soul jazz flavor than the hard edged roadhouse rocking R&B of the original. You can really see the musicians are excited and genuinely having fun here. And the fact that it sounds fun doesn't take away from the brilliance of the musicianship. There's an upbeat quartet version of "Paper Moon" along with "Since I Fell For You"-just Benson and David Garfield on piano showcasing that Benson's creamy,elastic voice-always very close to his guitar sound. And the closer with Ronnie Foster's "Fingerlero"? SMOKING SMOKING SMOKING! We're talking serious,melodic latin funk here and it all times out perfect. So in the end this is a terrific album,different in nature from but every bit the equal to his previous album. George Benson's a guy that's always come and gone in terms of releases. But he's been in rare form during this period. Can't wait to hear what the "guitar man" is going to come up with next!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Beautiful CD, received faster than expected
Had read the review beforehand and it was all I expected. Just the right CD for lovers of jazz guitar!
Published 1 month ago by Antonius J. Van Heide
Give Me The Striking Guitar Sound. . .With All Its Chords...
This is it! It is just what I ordered--the latest album from a remarkable guitarist/vocalist and multi-Grammy winner, George Benson. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue*
In the right direction
O.K., so "Down Beat" overdid it, not only greeting this album with a cover story on George Benson but proclaiming it the former superstar's return to mainstream jazz. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Samuel Chell
HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT
You'd think that with a title like GUITAR MAN, Benson would be returning to his roots as, arguably, one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time, but you'd be wrong. Read more
Published 3 months ago by sharp9
Another Great One from the Master
No one plays jazz better than George Benson and this is the first release that I'm aware of that features George with so many solo guitar performances. Buy it!
Published 5 months ago by Stanton Braden
music
I thought the cd was pretty good. I was a little disappointed at the artists' song selection. For George Benson, I was expecting the songs to more upbeat. Not bad, though!
Published 5 months ago by Tony
Another Great CD From George Benson!
This recording is George at his very best! A true collector's item! George Benson has not lost his edge. There will never be another George Benson!
Published 5 months ago by Hot Rod 21
jazz
George Benson is without a doubt my favorite Jazz Artist whenever he's in concert whereever it is,if I'm in the area I'm there. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Andrew D. Hatcher
MY FIRST NEW CD PURCHASE IN YEARS.
I DROVE FOR MILES TO PICK UP MY CD AND IT WAS WORTH THE GAS BENSON DOES WHAT HE HAS BEEN DOING FOR DECADES MAKE GREAT MUSIC. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Hudson G TANNIS
Living Legend George Benson
Living Legend George Benson has done it again, as a guitar player he takes you school, as a vocalist few voices compare, as a jazz great, you can count on one hand the living... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stratman
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