George Benson

Name: George Benson
Born: 22nd March, 1943 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)

Profile: He is an American musician, whose recording career began at the age of 21 as a jazz guitarist. He is also known as a pop, R&B, and scat singer. This one-time child prodigy topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 with the triple-platinum album, 'Breezin'. Benson uses a rest-stroke picking technique very similar to that of gypsy jazz players such as Django Reinhardt.

History: At the age of 7, Benson first played the ukulele in a corner drug store for which he was paid a few dollars; at the age of 8, his stepfather taught him to play guitar, soon after that he was playing guitar in a nightclub. At the age of 10, Benson recorded his first single record with RCA-Victor in New York, called 'She Makes Me Mad'.

As a youth, he learned how to play straight-ahead instrumental jazz for several years with organist Jack McDuff. At the age of 21, he recorded his first album, 'The New Boss Guitar'. Benson's next recording was 'It's Uptown' with the "George Benson Quartet" and followed up with "The George Benson Cookbook".

In the mid 60's, Miles Davis employed Benson, and featured his guitar on 'Paraphernalia' in the 1968 album 'Miles in the Sky'. Then Benson went to signed with CTI Records, where he recorded numerous albums with jazz heavyweights guesting to limited financial success. Benson also did a version of "The Beatles's" album 'Abbey Road' called 'The Other Side of Abbey Road'.

By the late 70's, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson for the first time. With the 1976 release album 'Breezin', Benson began to put his vocal on tracks such as 'This Masquerade'. He had used his vocals infrequently on songs earlier in his career. 'Breezin' was a significant album in terms of popular music history - the first jazz release to go platinum.

In 1985, Benson and guitarist Chet Atkins went on the smooth jazz charts with their collaboration 'Sunrise'. In 1992, Benson appeared on Jack McDuff's 'Colour Me Blue' album. He even toured with Al Jarreau in America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to promote their 2006 album 'Givin' It Up'. He played during the second Monsoon Cup in Terengganu in 2006 and also Malaysia's 50th Merdeka celebration alongside Jarreau in 2007.

In 2009, Benson finished recording a new album titled 'Songs and Stories', with Marcus Miller and Steve Lukather. Currently, Benson will tour throughout 2010 in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

To commemorate the long term relationship between Benson and Ibanez guitars and to celebrate 30 years of collaboration on the GB Signature Models, Ibanez created the GB30TH, a very limited edition model featuring a gold foil finish inspired by the traditional Japanese Garahaku art form.

Influences: Django Reinhardt, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Charlie Christian, Robert Johnson, Albert King, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove

Axology: Ibanez GB30TH hollow body electric guitar

Signature song(s): This Masquerade - George Benson (Breezin', 1976)

Link(s):

http://georgebenson.com/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QjTK0pL1go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpEfAV1T5b0