George Benson - The Essential George Benson (2006)

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George Benson - The Essential George Benson (2006)

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What an interesting album and what a great cross-sectional study of George Benson's evolution from young R&B based jazz-guitarist to easy jazz-pop phenomenom. Recording quality is generally good, except for 1-2 live songs. The listener can obviously take their pick which they prefer, but there's no denying that while George is best known for his Breezin and other albums from the 80's, he had a real eclectic body of work behind him that established him as a jazz leader. If you're one of those types who cry, "Hey he sold out", I'd counter that he brought the best of jazz to the pop world. The songs Breezin' and On Broadway are loads of fun, simply because they are well written and polished performances.

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George Benson - The Essential George Benson (2006)

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Before this pop period, Disc 1 showcases George's roots music and versatility with other players' bands. Especially interesting are guitar trio with Jimmy Griff (or is it MacDuff?) and a somewhat avant-garde piece with Miles Davis from the late-60's, Paraphernalia. George makes it all work because he is a consumate musician. Disc 1 ends, and Disc 2 begins, with Georges recordings on the Creed Taylor label, reaching for rock favorites like White Rabbit. Ironically, this is his least successful work, certainly less satisfying than Breezin. You can almost hear George think, "I've got to break out of this straight jazz rut, maybe this will work". It sounds overproduced and forced. Breezin is a lot more fun.
Finally, my personal favorite is the killer Hip Skip, recorded in 1980 with Tony Williams drummer. What a funky tune, and how essential George's lead and comping are to make this work. Anything George does after this body of work, is just icing on the cake.