{"id":2668,"date":"2011-10-05T00:28:44","date_gmt":"2011-10-05T04:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.motionfm.com\/?p=2668"},"modified":"2011-10-05T00:31:15","modified_gmt":"2011-10-05T04:31:15","slug":"george-benson-guitar-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/releases\/george-benson-guitar-man\/","title":{"rendered":"George Benson – Guitar Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BUY from AMAZON<\/a><\/strong>
\nFor Immediate Release \u2013 On October 4, 2011, National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master and Grammy-winning legend George Benson brings his guitar to the forefront in his newest album Guitar Man. The 12-song collection includes a mix of jazz and pop standards \u2013 some in a combo setting and some solo, but all of them tied together seamlessly by Benson\u2019s soulful and exploratory signature sound. Lending a hand on this recording is a solid team made up of veterans and newcomers alike \u2013 pianist Joe Sample, keyboardist and musical director David Garfield, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Harvey Mason. Williams is one of the hottest up-and-coming new artists on the jazz scene. Mason is a regular member of Fourplay, and a studio collaborator with Benson all the way back to Benson\u2019s 1976 blockbuster album, Breezin\u2019.<\/p>\n

In a career that spans five decades, more than 30 recordings as a leader and ten Grammy Awards, Benson has used his jazz roots as the foundation for an engaging mix of pop, R&B and other shades that add up to a style that appeals to a broad mainstream audience. Along the way, he has also established himself as a formidable jazz singer \u2013 one whose biggest career hits have showcased his vocals. But Guitar Man is just what the title implies \u2013 an album that highlights Benson\u2019s unparalleled guitar playing, perhaps more than any other album he has released in decades.<\/p>\n

For the new project, the crew came together in the studio with a minimum of prior rehearsal time but an eagerness to jump in and lay down tracks in something very close to the live experience \u2013 what Benson describes as an \u201cold school\u201d approach. The impromptu sensibility comes across in the final product, much of which came together with minimal takes in a single day of recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe figured that we would get the best energy if we went into the studio with some live musicians who are savvy and flexible,\u201d says Benson, \u201cand boy, did we accomplish that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Guitar Man, Benson\u2019s mastery of the guitar is demonstrated in a variety of styles and settings, all with legendary jazz roots. The opening track \u201cTenderly\u201d is a solo guitar track that serves as a reminder that Benson is one guitar man with sufficient technical and interpretive skills to be a band unto himself. The second song is an intriguing rendition of Lennon and McCartney\u2019s \u201cI Want To Hold Your Hand.\u201d Along with Benson on nylon-string guitar and Garfield on piano are guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Ray Fuller; bassist Freddie Washington; drummer Oscar Seaton, Jr. (who regularly tours with Benson); violinist Charlie Bisharat; and flutist\/clarinetist Dan Higgins. All come together to create a fully orchestrated sound that casts one of the most simplistic of the Beatles\u2019 early love ballads into something full-bodied and engaging.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the set consists of either solo guitar tracks or Benson backed by the aforementioned five-man team, which lays down an easygoing rendition of Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cMy Cherie Amour.\u201d Benson delivers the lyrics in his own engaging vocal style that includes a healthy dose of his trademark scatting guitar accompaniment.<\/p>\n

Other highlights include a rollicking version of the Champs\u2019 1958 instrumental hit, \u201cTequila,\u201d followed a couple tracks later by \u201cMy One and Only Love,\u201d which opens with a 16-bar solo jazz guitar intro that segues into a sweet vocal ballad. Benson delivers a playful straightahead rendition of \u201cPaper Moon\u201d with the quartet, followed by a solo guitar rendition of \u201cDanny Boy\u201d (one of the few times, if ever, that a guitar sounds like bagpipes). In the final stretch, Benson and Garfield set up a lush guitar-and-piano arrangement of the smoky standard, \u201cSince I Fell For You,\u201d with Benson once again stepping up to the mic for an emotional delivery of the song\u2019s impassioned lyrics.<\/p>\n

Benson has never been one to shy away from innovation or experimentation. For this guitar man, putting a jazz spin on pop standards \u2013 not just on this recording but throughout his career \u2013 is less of a taboo when you\u2019re willing to dispense with labels and the limitations that come with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople categorize things because they need to find someplace to put them on their shelf,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s all music to me. I think a lot of pop tunes that were very big in the United States many years ago were recorded by jazz musicians playing in the background. Most of the Motown records were recorded that way. Those guys were jazz musicians who were living in Detroit and were called to do a job, and they did it very well\u2026I try to do the same thing. I try to make it sound like it\u2019s natural, because to me it is. There are only two kinds of music, good and bad. There are a lot of things in between, but they\u2019re eventually going to fall on one side or the other of that equation.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Benson will be touring in support of Guitar Man. The live shows will feature Benson\u2019s masterful guitar playing, and Benson and his band will be performing classic George Benson hits along with an acoustic presentation of a few songs from Guitar Man.<\/p>\n

Confirmed dates below (additional dates TBA):<\/p>\n

Oct. 1 \u2013 Austin, TX \u2013 The Riverbend Centre<\/p>\n

Oct. 2 \u2013 St. Louis, MO \u2013 Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of MO<\/p>\n

Oct. 14 \u2013 Phoenix, AZ \u2013 Sage Court, JW Marriott<\/p>\n

Oct. 16 \u2013 Atlanta, GA \u2013 Symphony Hall<\/p>\n

Oct. 19 \u2013 Englewood, NJ \u2013 Bergen Performing Arts Center<\/p>\n

Oct. 20 \u2013 Morristown, NJ \u2013 Morristown Civic Center<\/p>\n

Oct. 21 \u2013 New York City, NY \u2013 Town Hall<\/p>\n

Oct. 23 \u2013 Glenside, PA \u2013 Keswick Theatre<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BUY from AMAZON For Immediate Release \u2013 On October 4, 2011, National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master and Grammy-winning legend …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2668"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2673,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2668\/revisions\/2673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}