I’ve met George Benson twice, and his wife once while working near his home in New Jersey. He and his wife are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met . Thanks for the great lesson Jens!
George Benson is simply one of the most exhilarating Jazz guitarists. Blending funk and jazz in his later years is just such an awesome feat that he made very popular! Also just a very articulate musician with guitar. Cheers as always
Great lesson again! A lot of GB playing also revolves around positions and he uses chromatic fills in a singularly effective rhythmic way. His groove is so great that even a basic arpeggio sounds amazing when he plays it
I had the same experience at one of his concert in Paris. The audience knew him mainly as a "pop" singer and went wild when he played and sang On Broadway note for note like the record. But at some point he picked up his guitar and played a solo blues for 5 minutes and I was blown away.
Just listened to 'The Cooker' from The George Benson Cookbook. I am entirely gobsmacked ! Gonna listen to it again another twenty times to see if I like it. 🤩
George Benson has a great way of combining Bebop with Blues and Soul Phrases, virtually inventing the Genre of Smooth Jazz Guitar. On the George Benson Cookbook album, Benny's Back often gets overlooked because of the tune The Cooker which is a fast Bebopish Jazz Blues.T-Bone Walker and B.B. King would often combine the Minor Pentatonic and Blues Scale with the Major Pentatonic in a style called the Sweet or Expensive Blues like you said, Inspiring many others. In my Humble Opinion, the most Aggressive Jazz Blues Guitar tracks ever recorded are 1. The Cooker George Benson 2. On The Stars Pat Martino 3. Out By Twelve Bill Connors. Oh, and by the way Jens, your not a Jazz Guitar Cyborg, despite the fact that you almost walked out of a George Benson concert. It sounds like your Patience paid off. Thanks.
Jens, I visit your channel from time to time and understand you are a great player, analyst and instructor. Much of what you teach is beyond my understanding and abilities. I grew up with classic rock, blues rock and didn't get into listening to jazz until my early twenties. In fact, the first jazz-like record I owned was Breezin'. You have to admit he's a damn good singer as well as a great player. I like all the playing I've heard from George. Do you find it rather amazing there are so many great guitar players in every genre these days? With young kids getting lessons from RU-vid everyday, I don't think there will ever be a shortage of great players. Keep up the fine work. The best to you, Jens!
Thank you! I am not saying that Benson is bad at the pop stuff, or that he is not allowed to do it. I just don't really enjoy it that much so I don't really listen to it.
Guitar players will often forget that GB is not only a great guitarist but also a great singer. He has a fantastic voice and a whole load of great songs that have given him huge mainstream success and a career that spans decades. His live shows are superb, his singing and his playing impeccable and he's got a great band. The vibe is positive and fun but the music is still great, played by great musicians. Night after night the setlist will change but it's always flawless. And the audiences love it.
Had a live Jimmy Smith record, recorded in Philly. George Benson was the guitarist. It was *very* raw. It wasn't until his Creed Taylor records that he blossomed.
I also saw Benson after he became popular for his singing. His playing was enough to make me almost quit trying to play jazz. And I did, for a long time. My biggest disappointment of the concert was the sheer volume and lack of dynamics. It was just super loud the whole time.
Anyone who is a serious player has a frustrating GB guitar story. Here's mine: I long time ago, I bought his instructional guitar DVD, I sat and listened to him solo playing "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" on a classical guitar with his thumb mind you from his home. After that, I endured him playing "Tenderly" among other things. By the the video''s end, he was clearly warmed up and inspired (and he knew it). He quoted Woody Woodpecker. I calmly put the DVD back in its case and didnt touch a guitar for about a couple of months. lol. I havent played that video since.
Had a similar experience at a Benson show a few years ago, i didn't realize that he had such an extensive pop song vocal repertoire. I was yelling (to quote Frank Zappa) "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar!"
As far as being inspired by Pat Martino, these guys including Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, Al Caiola, Joe Pass , George Van Epps all lived in North Jersey close to the gigs in Manhattan. It was fertile ground for Jazz musicians In general, Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, to name a few others. Rudy Van Gelders studio in Englewood was also very close to Bensons home in Alpine. Jazz was part of the landscape of New Jersey when I was a kid especially since the worlds greatest jazz radio station WBGO was always on.
Yes, I just know that he talked about being very impressed with Martino, and there are some very clear similarities between the two in terms of phrasing in this period.
When I listen to GB, I hear a purity of tone, complexity of phrasing and beautiful outside lines - that sound perfectly natural. I hear lots more of course. He's my favourite bop style player; but his showbiz and funk strands leave me a bit cold.
My friend, most awesome music is accidentally done. Now days so many try to break down every little note and try to over complicate everything when the most simple music seems to be the most admired. Example: Mr Benson is a legend. You are more than likely much more “educated” yet …….
When you were talking about smooth jazz not really being your thing I literally laughed out loud because the thought occurred to me "whose thing IS it???" LOL! I mean if you think about it I don't mean it in a bad way but you really never hear people talking about smooth jazz as much as you hear people talk about all the great guitar players or horn players or piano players or things like that.
I can understand walking out of a show that you looked forward to. I walked out of a Chick Corea electric band show, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen live next to a Herbie Hancock show where he was so wasted ( partying too much with Gil Scott Herring apparently) he knocked all of his music off of the piano and the guitar player was shouting the changes at him for the rest of the show in obvious disgust. Even the best have bad nights it seems.
@@jankafka7330 I know it’s Heron a bird not a fish like the Jimmy one. Spellcheck gave me that and I’m sticking with it. He was a Herring, he didn’t make the gig.
I walked out of an Electric Band gig around 30 years ago. They were playing well, but their sound balance was non-existent. What's more, they didn't seem to notice, or care.
@JensLarsen -- Another jazz instructor RU-vidr named Chase Maddox has been doing some analysis of Benson's playing. I know you've seen that and commented. My impression is that Benson draws from his repertoire of patterns and he applies them by sound and feel without thinking in theory terms. But we can look at, say, his Amaj7 arpeggio over an F7 and understand it in theory terms. If we're playing over Am, we might play D7 licks, but what if we're playing over C major? D7 still works. So what if it's C7 and we're playing some D7 blues licks? Still works, and I think that's what Benson was doing there. He starts out with A-C-D (see 5:06), as if he's in Am pentatonic, but then he plays 8 notes that work well as D7alt. (maybe even going to E7 where you have the weird interval), then he plays a chromatic run that would be typical over C7 and returns to a C arpeggio. It would be easier to make sense of it if we knew the correct fingering. What do you think?
Thanks for this breakdown of a fabulous solo! My route to George Benson started when I watched the ‘97 Brent Mason country guitar instructional video. The 2nd half of the video was about Western swing and jazz and Brent mentioned George a ton.
Jens, I was watching one of your other ii V I videos and you stated that the pentatonic DS sound was "expensive". That got lost a little in the translation. It's close, but I have never heard the word used quite like that in American or British native speaking and I'm born and raised in California. A new, hip ,slang term perhaps? Respectfully submitted...I watch your videos. You mean fancy, lush, and modern by that, right?
It is a fairly common expression for chords and scales in Jazz, not sure it's really new? It just mean that is good and the way it is good will depend on the context. Though often it will be technical or surprising in nature.
When I first heard George Benson, it was through his songs, and to be honest, I thought they were uninteresting, it was a bad day when someone told him he could sing, many years later I’ve got to know him it’s a jazz guitarist and my God he’s good
Subscribed! Great videos. May I ask, what is the software you are using with waveform & piano roll? Is this a good way to import audio/learn solos? Best wishes
@@JensLarsen I've not tried it with this tune, but unless you're going 50% speed or slower, I'm guessing it'll still swing like a mofo. I would agree that if you need to slow it down that much, then yes, try something else.
@@tyroneshuz swing feel is connected to the tempo, so if you start changing it then that aspect is affected. In my opinion, a lot earlier than half speed.
Hallo Jens, listenin' to 'Cookbook' (ugly cover - incredible playing) I heard a few places where George is reaching for chromatic bop lines at ferocious speed (like on the opening cut) and seems to descend in quarter-tones or at least fitting more tones in than actually permuted by 12 ...! I think this is because he has a permanent squeeze on the strings picked up instinctively to send a few scale tones purposefully sharp (with respect to the temper) like Buddy Guy and all the masters of blues microtonality... thus he can release the tweak and get two notes for the price of one when he really shreds... thanks for the ace analysis !
on a very basic technique level, there is something about George Benson 's picking or rythm that makes his playing distinctive. Could you explain something about his technique?
The main stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival is the famous musician/pop music stage. I like his pop stuff because I expanded my musical horizons and dont need to hear someone "play the changes." GB once explained how he went through his expansion. He recalls hearing Jimi Hendrix and wanting to change the station each time ("turn that sh-t off!'). I suppose his horizon had to expand when he was incessantly attacked for being a pop singer. (A friend of mine who was playing and touring with Art Barkley saw him playing GB as a chump and asking for $10k)
GREAT lesson! By the way, in the first lick, over Ab7 and G7, is he playing the Maj7 arpeggio from the 4th of the scale, or 5th of the chord( FMaj7 over G7)? And if it's yes, why it sounds? Thanks Jens!
This is very random, but Wouldn't you post'nt a video on teaching something bout that **open extended 90s art rock chords mood* please? That sweet blurry horizontal art-house guitar style. it's mostly about intervals, inversions and there are chord books to use in a last case scenario on the web, but when I let go and decide to play more freely on the arm, trying to forget scales, shapes etc it's still somehow a bit constricted. I'm talking about Jhonny marr, Thurston moore, mary timony, and even R. Fripp. Something more or less similar to how they play. How can I start going that way faster? Thanks in advance
I know you are not generally a technique teacher, but I find that as I work on my jazz playing I am limited by my ability to play faster passages. Benson is the perfect foil for this question. Do you have any advice on how play quickly and smoothly? I feel like I'm limited by my speed with the pick and smoothness (legato) with my left hand.
Thanks, Jens. I did find that video and watch it. I was thinking more of the actual technique you use to pick the string. Are there things you focus on to pick cleanly and quickly? For example, do you move your wrist side to side and try to keep your hand from moving up and down off of the string? Do you hold the pick tightly or loosely? Do you try to keep a minimum of depth to your picking so the pick does not go down between the strings very far, etc. @@JensLarsen
@@ThinkingMan482 Are you on Patreon? If so then maybe ask in the discord server in the questions section. Maybe I can shoot some quick close ups that are helpful?
Maybe I'm thinking too much! I once did a master class in classical guitar where the instructor stopped me playing in a matter of seconds after I prepared for 6 months. He critiqued the very subtle little lack of fluency between notes as I played. There was an infinitesimal pause as I plucked each note that neither I nor my teacher had ever noted or worked on. I struggled to get the timing of it, though I could hear the difference. It was all I got out of my six months of work for that class. I hear it now in my electric guitar playing and I'm trying to get rid of it! The faster I try to play, the more noticeable it is and I'm looking for a key to picking and fingering notes quickly, cleanly, and fluidly enough that the notes sound continuous rather than staccato. It's a subtle thing, but I'm sure you get what I mean. I don't want you to go to a lot of trouble on my behalf. If it's something that you think deserves attention then maybe you can do a video one day. @@JensLarsen
I wish you would analyze his solo in the song affirmation it’s not bebop, but there is a lot in there and I would join your Patreon twice if you would do or have already gone over the song information there’s one licking their there is just totally unbelievable. I found the transcription of it and some of the fingerings are just totally off-the-wall but maybe that’s how he played it. I don’t know all the notes just don’t sound right
I call it gypsy jazz. Sounds like something Django whip out. For those long chromatic lines, just analyze the first and last note. Where it starts and ends are the anchors and the rest is momentum. The first part also sounds like a harmonic minor I'd play to step out of key while still emphasizing the root.
I heard that people actually left one of his recent London concerts because he had problems with his voice at the time and was playing way too much guitar! 😅
Hey Jens, great video! I'm a beginner jazz guitarist, but jazz has been in my life for a while as I used to play Alto sax for my school. I've learned your autumn leaves videos and learned the chord melody, and your Satin Doll chords videos, and I applied what I learned from that to autumn leaves! It sounds great, but as a musician, my knowledge is better than my technique. I try to improve it through practice but find myself just noodling and spacing out. Any tips on what to practice for technique?
You mentioned Billies Bounce being a great solo (one of my favs) and also this is a great live gig though piano a bit too high in the mix! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2kXxUWwPCt4.html
When he plays solo, He employs counterpointing, single line flourishes, and harmonic tools commonly referred thee days as Barry Harris Diminished 6th concepts.
George Benson doesn’t have to prove anything to you. Nearly lost you? What arrogance. Who are you? You do a lot of analysis paralysis. Why don’t you post your playing so we can see what you can do. Benson can do what he wants in concert. He was a legend before RU-vid.
It is possible, by your own logic, you are not allowed to criticize my taste at all. But maybe post some of your playing so we can see what you can do 😂 You can see my playing in a lot of videos, look them up here or on instagram.
I’ll out play you any day of the week. You’re not that good dude. You just talk a lot. I can criticize you. Benson has proven himself proficient in many genres. All you have is social media. I bet if you had a concert you’d be lucky if 50 people showed up. All you do is noodle and offer analysis and horrible opinions. Post a 30 minute solo guitar concert of yourself. You can’t do it. So keep faking it. I’m not fooled.
it sucks to call a riff cheap when minor pentatonic is used ,where you're even not able to make it sounds right plus you play jazz like a cyborg without any feeling ,far from guys like Benson,a Chatgpt jazz version played by a human .
