George Benson - Columbia Jazz Profiles (2007) CD Rip

Tracklist

01. The Cooker [0:04:19.05]
02. Bossa Rocka [0:04:25.30]
03. Paraphernalia (Miles Davis feat/ George Benson) [0:12:38.40]
04. So What [0:09:19.25]
05. My Latin Brother [0:06:49.06]
06. Dance [0:08:20.72]
07. Body Talk [0:08:22.55]
08. Ode To A Kudu [0:04:41.17]
09. Somewhere In The East [0:09:47.42]

George Benson is one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history. He is an amazingly versatile musician whose skills he finds crossing easily between straight-forward jazz, smooth jazz and contemporary R & B. Blessed with supreme tastes, a beautiful, rounded guitar tone, terrific speed, and a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, always, an unquenchable urge to swing, Benson's inspirations may have been Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supporting soloists and a dangerous swinger, especially in a soul-jazz format. But Benson can also sing in a lush, soulful tenor with manners similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, and it's his voice that has proven more marketable to the public than his guitar. Benson is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat King Cole - a fantastic pianist whose smooth voice with a pop vocal eventually eclipsed his instrumental prowess on the market - but unlike Cole, Benson has been given enough time after his fling with pop charts it reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.