Happy birthday George Benson.

[Hardbopjazz]

Happy birthday George Benson. He turned  78 yesterday. 

Edited March 23, 2021 by Hardbopjazz

[JSngry]

Spent a week or so revisiting most all of his records up through and including Living Inside Your Love and found no fault, and only slightly less a portion of true pleasure of some degree or another.

also, glad that it appears that he kept his money. Not everybody does. Cries of "commercialism" ring hollow when up against, hey, here's 78 year old jazz/Black musician who actually not only got rich, but kept the money and stayed rich. Doesn't have to play another not of ANY kind unless/until he wants to.

George Benson, like Tito Rodriguez, wins at life.

 

[felser]

I go one album further with Benson, to "Give Me The Night".  It's not jazz per se, but it's superior music of its era (1980).  Lost interest after that, but have almost everything he released as a leader up to that point, and derive a great deal of pleasure from most of it.  And I also salute him for living life well and wisely.   

[JSngry]

5 minutes ago, felser said:

I go one album further with Benson, to "Give Me The Night". 

I almost went that far, but the used copy I had a shot at had a little too little packaging for my taste. I do recall it, if not fondly, at least pleasurable enough.

Then again, I'm promiscuous as fuck when it comes to stuff like that. But hey.

[felser]

6 hours ago, JSngry said:

I almost went that far, but the used copy I had a shot at had a little too little packaging for my taste. I do recall it, if not fondly, at least pleasurable enough.

Then again, I'm promiscuous as fuck when it comes to stuff like that. But hey.

It's a Quincy Jones production, and I also loved what Jones was doing at that point with Rufus ("Masterjam") and his own albums ("the Dude").  Plus some guy named Michael Jackson, with whom he made a couple of obscure albums ("Off the Wall" and the especially underexposed "Thriller").

Edited March 24, 2021 by felser

[Rabshakeh]

Give Me The Night is a great album. Not jazz as you say, but it benefits from Benson’s guitar too. That QJ production with those taut but silky bass lines is incredible.

Benson is also one of the few people to look no worse with age. Sure, he got a whole lot of expensive work done, but, like going commercial, that rarely actually works out for most people (Al Di Meola’s incredible encroaching hairline providing perhaps the only other notable exception in jazz).

Happy birthday to Mr. Benson!

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, Rabshakeh said:

Give Me The Night is a great album. Not jazz as you say, but it benefits from Benson’s guitar too.

Those were the days .... when some records simply resulted in quality dance music  ....

[Hardbopjazz]

The day it all started.  March 22, 1953.

 

 

[CJ Shearn]

HBD to GB.  The man

Edited March 26, 2021 by CJ Shearn