One of the all-time jazz guitar greats on meeting Jimi Hendrix, how Peter Frampton changed the course of his career and what Paul McCartney thought of his Beatles tribute
By Joe Bosso
GEORGE BENSON REALLYwants to talk about the new album he’s cutting. It’s his first studio recording since 2019’s Walking to New Orleans, and as he says, “It’s going to be something really special.”
He starts to divulge a detail or two, then abruptly stops. “Well, that’s about all I can say right now,” he says. When pressed for any kinds of tidbits, he laughs and relents every so slightly. “I can’t let out exactly what it is, but it’s something different from anything I’ve ever done, and I’m working with one of the top arrangers of our time. That’s about as far as I can go with that. I’m keeping it under my hat for now.”
In actual fact, musically speaking, there isn’t much the 80-year-old guitar legend hasn’t done. After cutting his teeth in organist “Brother” Jack McDuff’s jazz band in the early Sixties, Benson struck out on his own and released The New Boss Guitar of George Benson. From there, he never looked back. His virtuosic chops and artful sense of style, combined with an unshakable taste for adventure, quickly established him as one of the most exciting and original jazz guitarists since Charlie Christian. But Benson — also blessed with a smooth and soulful tenor singing voice — wouldn’t limit his gifts to the strictly jazz market, and over the years he spanned pop, rock, R&B, disco, blues and Latin music (his 1976 crossover smash, Breezin’, hit Number 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 and bagged him a pair of Grammys).
“Anytime somebody says, ‘What’s George doing playing this kind of music?’ I want to say, ‘Well, why shouldn’t I?’” Benson says. “I like to challenge myself.” It would seem he’s never at a loss for new avenues to explore; just last year, he contributed velvety solos on funk master Bootsy Collins’ groove slammer “The Power of One.” Speaking of his 2018 collaboration with the virtual band Gorillaz on their trippy single “Humility,” Benson says, “When I heard their name, I said, ‘Gorillaz? I don’t know, man.’ Then I found out they were a rock group or a pop group from London, and I said, ‘Well, let me hear what they’ve got.’ At first, I didn’t know what to do, but I hate to disappoint people. Finally, I told the engin
