Customer Reviews

This Is Jazz 9

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For the George Benson enthusiast! Selections from George Benson Cookbook, Bad Benson, Good King Bad, The Best of George Benson, From Beyond the Blue Horizon and George's first ever album--"Uptown with the George Benson Quartet". (check out this album!!) He looks 14 and plays with the polish and wisdom of an artist with a lifetime of experience.

"Clockwise", "Stormy Weather", "Myna Bird Blues", "Willow Weep for Me" are all cuts from this legendary first album. You've never heard "Stormy Weather" played with such an upbeat tempo--it jams--Harold Arlen would be pleased.

"Clockwise" introduces us to the guitar mastery and that has made Goerge one of the legendary jazz guitarists of our time. Ron Cuber on baritone sax matches George note for note and whirls through harmonic and melodic scales. "Willow Weep for Me" is soulful as it should be with beautiful Benson riffs.

A new take on "Take Five"--sort of a pleasing muzak version with lots of guitar prowess.

Listening to "Good King Bad" at the end of the 20th century now makes me realize how much of a 1970's disco-ish sound this particular peice has...not that there is anything wrong with that!

Put "From Now On" on your snooze button for those restless nights. This is a real melodic ear pleaser. It sounds like hot chocolate tastes.

This musical compilation is excellent for those audiophiles wishing to check out more of the George Benson sound and less of the beautiful voice. He truly is a remarkable musician and vocalist.

This is a jazz! The best album of Georgy. Buy it now :)

Heard this around a friend's house. Thought it was a good representation of the other side of Benson. Personally I think he is a great singer and don't have a problem with the guy doing what he wants to do, but his Jazz work is sadly undersold and the big record companies and media should invest some serious money in letting the general public know more about the guy's guitar work. Tracks such as Clockwise and Good king bad while stylistically dissimilar are exceptional examples of the man's ability to tell a story and very few singers today are capable of reaching the kind of emotional depth heard on Summertime.

The good thing is that George is still playing jazz regularly and another good thing is that Sony have released his first two albums for Columbia. These are both gems and a fine example of Benson's more straightahead work. Both albums are represented in the This is Jazz collection.