Customer Reviews

It's Uptown

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4 star:		(2)
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Like "The George Benson Cookbook" (1966), this is another jazz organ-guitar combo release with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ron Cuber on saxophone. Although George Benson began as a vocalist, he only sings on three tracks ("Summertime", "A Foggy Day", and "Stormy Weather"), and does a decent job. (Two out of Three ain't bad.)

I like quick tempo jazz instrumentals, and I liked 80% of the eleven tracks on this album. It made sense to include these five additional bonus tracks on this album. The three alternate tracks were not as good, but interesting to hear. The last two additional tracks are from a Lonnie Smith album with the same musicians (I liked "Minor Chant" best). Sixteen tracks on a jazz album is a good buy.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes 1966 jazz organ-guitar combo instrumental tracks, similar to many Jimmy Smith Blue Note recordings.

I am a jazz guitarist and I've bought a whole bunch of jazz guitar albums. This one is one of my favorites for pure bebop, smokin', freakin', maniac playing. Who can blame George for becoming a star singer? He has a great voice, and he made a gazllion bucks (which he wouldn't have playing guitar). Top pro jazz guitarists everywhere probably sighed a collective sigh of relief when he took that detour. What makes George special, for me, is that he has all the facility and harmonic sophistication of any jazz guitarist, but he also has a strong, funky, blues thread that permeates the air. Sometimes jazz guitar can be a bit too cerebral, but not if you have a deep sense of the blues, and a bad ass swagger in your playing. George is about as smokin' a jazz guitarist as you'll ever hear and this one is a hell of a lot of fun.

** I'm going to post the exact same review under his "Cookbook" album because it's more of the same. Buy both.

I've owned this album for over 25 years (LP) along with "Cookbook." This is George at his finest, before becoming commercial. Real bebop, and great chops. No "Breezin" or "On Broadway" commercial junk. Get this album, and also "Cookbook" if you want to hear George before money transformed him :-)