Photo courtesy of the artist
For many music fans, George Benson’s career may be defined by his best selling and award winning 1976 album “Breezin’”, which won the artist Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Record of the Year. Benson followed this with three more Grammy wins in 1980, 1993 and 2006 and is one of the most awarded Jazz guitarists.
George Benson began his career s a singer, recording his first record as an eleven year old and forming his first rock band at seventeen.Working initially with a guitar hand made by his stepfather, Benson got interested as a teen in jazz and was soon playing professionally with Brother Jack McDuff before forming his own jazz ensemble as a twenty-one year old.
Early albums established Benson as a premier guitarist, but it was the move into more pop oriented music in the 70s that made Benson a star.
!976’s “Breezin” was only the second time in his professional career that Benson sang on his record. Quincy Jones encouraged him to look for other opportunities and Benson did, delivering a string of top 10 R&B and pop singles in the 70s and 80s.Over his long career George Benson has received 10 Grammys.
Criticism of Benson comes from jazz purists who claim he has abandoned the genre with his frequent and successful forays into pop and R&B. To that he quotes jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine: Someone asked him: ‘Stanley, you’re a great saxophone player. Why do you play that funny music?’ He said, ‘Because I want to.’”
