George Benson - Original Album Classics (2007)

2007 five CD set, a great installment in Sony/BMG's Original Album Classics series that brings together rare and out of print titles with some best sellers from the Sony/BMG Jazz catalog. Many of these albums have been unavailable on CD for some time and are sought after by collectors. Each set is presented in a high quality, rigid cardboard slipcase containing five 'vinyl replica' mini LP sleeves. This collection from the guitar great features the albums Bad Benson, The George Benson Cookbook, It's Uptown, Body Talk and Beyond The Blue Horizon.

~ amazon

While George Benson's solid jazz reputation supposedly rests on his early John Hammond-produced Columbia albums, one listen to this disc will reveal that his interests roamed widely from the beginning. Yes, there is plenty of straightforward bop playing here, with Benson stretching his technical chops on "Hello Birdie" and "Myna Bird Blues" and ruminating thoughtfully on "Willow Weep for Me." But Benson also had an interest in quasi-rock & roll, producing Wes-like octaves on "Young Jaguar," and some Bo Diddley-in-Spain rhythm chording on "Bullfight." The young Benson sounds pure and mellifluous on three vocal numbers, the basic elements of his later successes mostly in place. Yet Benson's backing combo doesn't click on all cylinders; Lonnie Smith is reliable on organ but Ronnie Cuber's blunt baritone sax is rather cumbersome here.

by Richard S. Ginell, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Clockwise
02. Summertime
03. Ain't That Peculiar
04. Jaguar
05. Willow Weep For Me
06. A Foggy Day
07. Hello Birdie
08. Bullfight
09. Stormy Weather
10. Eternally
11. Myna Bird Blues
12. J. H. Bossa Nova
13. Clockwise (Alternate Take)
14. Eternally (Short Version)
15. Sideman
16. Minor Chant

The second of Benson's John Hammond-produced albums is far and away the superior of the pair, mixing down-to-basics, straight-ahead jazz with soul-drenched grooving. Suddenly Benson's backup group - same as that of Uptown, with Benny Green added on trombone now and then - has found its bearings and apropos to the title, they can cook, even sizzle. The effect upon Benson's own playing is striking; with something to react against, his sheer ability to swing advances into the realm of awesome. The rapid-fire work on "The Cooker" and "Ready And Able" will make you gasp. Only one vocal here, an exuberant "All Of Me."

by Richard S. Ginell, AMG

Tracklist:

01. The Cooker
02. Benny's Back
03. Bossa Rocka
04. All Of Me
05. Big Fat Lady
06. Benson's Rider
07. Ready And Able
08. Borgia Stick
09. Return Of The Prodigal Son
10. Jumping With Symphony Sid
11. Man From Toledo
12. Slow Scene
13. Let Them Talk
14. Goodnight

Having taken Benson along with him when he founded CTI, Creed Taylor merely leaves the guitarist alone with a small group on his first release. The payoff is a superb jazz session where Benson rises to the challenge of the turbulent rhythm section of Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter, with Clarence Palmer ably manning the organ. Benson is clearly as much at home with DeJohnette's advanced playing as he was in soul/jazz (after all, he did play on some Miles Davis sessions a few years before), and his tone is edgier, with more bite, than it had been for awhile. The lyrical Benson is also on eloquent display in "Ode to a Kudu" (heard twice on the CD, as is "All Clear"), and there is even a somewhat experimental tilt toward Afro-Cuban-Indian rhythms in "Somewhere to the East." A must-hear for all aficionados of Benson's guitar.

by Richard S. Ginell, AMG

Tracklist:

01. So What
02. The Gentle Rain
03. All Clear
04. Ode To A Kudu
05. Somewhere In The East
06. All Clear (Alternate Take)
07. Ode To A Kudu (Alternate Take)
08. Somewhere In The East (Alternate Take)

With an eye and ear on what was happening on the soul charts – James Brown in particular – Benson made a decided swerve toward R&B on this release. Indeed the JB's Pee Wee Ellis turns up as a big band arranger on three tracks, and he no doubt had a direct influence on the distinct JB groove of one of the non-big-band tunes, "Dance." It should come as no surprise by now that this formidable guitarist has no problem handling any kind of groove, although the mixed rhythm section of Jack DeJohnette, Ron Carter, electric pianist Harold Mabern, and percussionist Mobutu sometimes sends mixed messages. Earl Klugh has a few tasty moments on his own, and there are some reconnaissance flights back to the jazz side of George, which he handles with his usual confident aplomb.

by Richard S. Ginell, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Dance
02. When Love Has Grown
03. Plum
04. Body Talk
05. Top Of The World
06. Body Talk (Alternate Take)

Preceding Breezin', his crossover smash for Warner in 1976, Bad Benson shows the guitarist still hanging on to his Wes Montgomery roots in places while stretching his soul-jazz persona into even funkier arenas. CTI had a formula for making funky, accessible jazz and fusion records that in 1974 still held true. Arranged by Don Sebesky, Bad Benson is a collection of delicious, varied, and sometimes confusing choices. Benson's own playing is precise and smooth as always, and guitarist Phil Upchurch keeps a large color palette for him to draw from, as in the funkified version of "Take Five." Other notables are the stellar "My Latin Brother," which begins as a Debussy-ian impressionistic string study before becoming a heavily arpeggiated variation on the samba. Kenny Barron's pianism here is the driving force behind a rhythm section that also includes drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Ron Carter. They give Benson a harmonic floor for one of the most inspiring solos of his career. These intensely meaty cuts – along with Upchurch's stellar swinging in the pocket groover "Full Compass" – are juxtaposed against ballads such as "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams" and "The Changing World," a pair of ballads that ape Montgomery's later snore-fest session for A&M. Not a great album, but a very, very good one.

by Thom Jurek, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Take Five
02. Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
03. My Latin Brother
04. No Sooner Said Than Done
05. Full Compass
06. The Changing World
07. Take The 'A' Train
08. Serbian Blue
09. From Now On


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