![]() You’ve got to make some concessions you’ve got to do some sort of translation, even if you do it with your hands. When you’re speaking another language to a man and you know that he doesn’t understand, you can’t expect him to pick it up easily. Now that the light is shining in my direction, and they’re saying : “Give us something”, I’m trying to give them something that I think they can understand, without putting the people down: There are those who say that it’s an insult to the people’s intelligence not just playing for the sake of playing and letting them have their own opinion. ![]() That’s the thing that I commend today’s audience for allowing us-I mean the people who came from the jazz field to be heard, finally. I’m glad to hear you say that, because, naturally, we get a lot of criticism about not being solid in this area or that area. This is the heartening thing-you’ve been bringing good music to a large number of people. We’ve given them some of the things they know, and we try to maintain our creativity as we indulge in this. When I say today’s people, I’m talking about the people who have sort of shaped the record industry, and have demanded a certain kind of concept to their music. You know, something that we consider is suited for today’s record buyers and listeners more like an across-the-board kind of concept, that includes a lot of the elements that today’s people look for. We’ve had a tremendous amount of promotion but we’ve given them something to promote. But mostly up in the last couple of years, since my signing with the Warner Brothers record label. We’ve been thrown this way and that, and gone up and down. But since then quite a lot has happened to you in your musical life, hasn’t it? Yes, I remember how much I enjoyed the various sets I heard. ![]() ![]() And it was a really interesting engagement. I brought over a young guitar player, called Earl Klugh, plus a drummer and a bass player. Yeah, that was a good two weeks we had there. The last time I talked with you George, was in the Spring of 1974, when you were playing a date at Ronnie Scott’s. Benson also looks back on the impact of his album “Breezin’”. He chats about the changes in his career and how he sees himself as a ‘rhythmic player’ who relies on a solid foundation of rhythm. In an interview of 1978, George Benson talks to journalist Les Tomkins. Benson maintains the same philosophy and keeps learning. Montgomery made an impression by refusing to teach him something and explaining “I’m still trying to learn how to play myself”. In total, Benson has received 10 Grammys.Īged 17, the young Benson met the legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery. His 1976 mainstream album “Breezin’” brought him his greatest commercial success and won him multiple Grammy Awards. Other later notable collaborations have included Freddie Hubbard, Mary J Blige, Jill Scott and the Gorillaz. Miles Davis featured Benson’s guitar in his 1960s albums “Paraphernalia” and “Miles in the Sky”.ĭuring the 1970s Benson played with pop and soul artists including Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder. He recorded his first album as leader aged 21, which featured McDuff. The following year he started playing guitar in a night club and began his recording career under the name of Little Georgie.Īged 19, Benson started playing with organist Jack McDuff, who took him on the road for over two years with his jazz quartet. George Washington Benson is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who has straddled the worlds of jazz, R&B, soul and pop.Ī child prodigy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at age seven Benson was playing ukulele in a corner drug store for a few dollars.
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