jazzpiano88 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I'm not a worshiper of Rick Beato, but he let George speak for 99.99999% of this interview. George is such a great storyteller that he naturally dominated this tale. George Benson is a perfect Gem. I learned of him in the 70's when I was into jazz fusion when Breezin' came out and was just blown away! Amazing he had already recorded like 15 albums. What a monster!! 2 Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Been a fan of Benson back to his Columbia records days and have read many interviews with George and with people he worked with. George like the great Jazz musician never plays anything the same way twice he also never tells a story the same way twice. So over the years heard a lot of variation on those stories and always cool to here retelling of the stories he does. I got to see him a few times when he was playing and not singing I love that era for him. I know he likes to sing, but he plays so dam good. Props to Beato for just to letting the cameras roll and let George tell his stories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 His whole thing about starting out on the Ukulele and associated stories is just adorable! Well put Doc!! I’m not a guitar player, but I love his playing so much, and that story about his signature guitar makes me want to go out and buy one! May just do that! Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 26 minutes ago, jazzpiano88 said: His whole thing about starting out on the Ukulele and associated stories is just adorable! Well put Doc!! I’m not a guitar player, but I love his playing so much, and that story about his signature guitar makes me want to go out and buy one! May just do that! I had two of his signature guitars over the years. My first archtop was a GB-20 his early full size archtop they only made for a few years. Then years later I found a deal on a GB-10 the only you see in the video, it was designed for live playing with thicker wood and small body to help reduce feedback that archtops are prone to. Those guitars can get quite an amazing range of sound from some some Funk rhythm to full Jazz tone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphybridget Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 3 hours ago, Docbop said: I had two of his signature guitars over the years. My first archtop was a GB-20 his early full size archtop they only made for a few years. Then years later I found a deal on a GB-10 the only you see in the video, it was designed for live playing with thicker wood and small body to help reduce feedback that archtops are prone to. Those guitars can get quite an amazing range of sound from some some Funk rhythm to full Jazz tone. It's great to hear about your experience with George Benson's signature guitars! Both the GB-20 and GB-10 sound exceptional. The GB-20's full-size archtop and the GB-10's smaller body offer unique features for different styles, delivering a wide range of sounds from funk to jazz. Playing and exploring the capabilities of these guitars must have been a joy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedar Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I read Benson's autobiography a few years ago. It was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Cool interview. Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 The music biz has been pretty good to George. He used to live in or around Englewood NJ (I don't remember the exact location). I was asked by Eliane Elias to help her do an overdub session on one of her tracks at George's studio, which was at this house. I did not see George while I was there but I will never forget this house, ever. Quite modern - lots of glass, and built on top of a stream which they left unaltered - yes, a forest stream was running through his living room! The other thing I remember from this session was that he had a Synclavier which Eliane used to do rhodes overdubs! And, truth be told, its sound (at least the particular patch that was used) didn't impress me much! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tapes Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 4 hours ago, cedar said: I read Benson's autobiography a few years ago. It was pretty good. I read it too, I recall he referred to each and everyone as ”cat”. To those laughing at his smooth jazz - just look at that house! Drives a new Rolls Royce too… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 2 minutes ago, tapes said: just look at that house! I haven't read the book. Is the house the one I described in the post above yours, the one in New Jersey with the stream running through it? I guess I'll have to find a copy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 On 3/18/2024 at 11:19 AM, Reezekeys said: The music biz has been pretty good to George. I would imagine so! At the time when enough money was swashing around that multiple grammys would make him multi millionaire or more. 12 million albums sold at that time made him a rich man. 12 million sold over the same time interval in 2024 would make a below average basement player with a day job at a high school who no one's ever heard of netting about $4k. Pretty sad, actually! The cool thing is that George was discovered, rose to the top, and made a great living at it. There was something to be said for that trajectory that doesn't exist anymore. Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoB3 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 The interviewer is serviceable but the subject is IMMENSE so yes! He seems like an absolutely killer human being, only equaled or better by his musicianship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyS Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Excellent interview,,,maybe his house is his homage to Frank Lloyd Wright who designed Fallingwater ..... that house is in the Pittsburgh area ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Definitely in the style of Wright......see below: https://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/2015/06/george_benson_englewood_home_frank_lloyd_wright.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Yes that was the house... but no stream running through any room that I saw in the pics. Maybe they remodeled and got rid of that feature (I was there around 1989, I think). "Taxes are $61,368 a year"... wow, and that was nine years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 Yeah maybe the mold associated with indoor water could have been a problem. We had houses with indoor pools in our neighborhood that had to be demolished. Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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