![]() There’s a direct line from Charlie Christian through Wes Montgomery to George Benson. Pictures from his youth show George Benson holding the instrument like a lad who was born to play. It was then that two love affairs were born: Tom Collier became George’s stepfather and first musical mentor, and young George Benson fell hard for the guitar. As soon as the man left the room, George ran to the instrument. One day, a man came calling and told George not to touch the guitar he’d brought to serenade the boy’s mother. Growing up with a single mother, the young George knew he loved music but couldn’t warm up to the old piano in their living room. Looking back to his earliest days, Benson seemed destined for greatness as a child prodigy. Mosaic Contemporary has brought out a fine remastered edition on CD.George Benson first made it to the top of the pops in the 1970s, scoring multiplatinum with his smooth singing and superb musicianship. In retrospect, listening to this record in the 21st century, it's difficult to imagine Benson making the switch from a classy guitar firebrand to a pop star so quickly. Foster keeps it all grounded, but this baby swings so hard it threatens to lift off. It's called "Octane." Over ten minutes in length, it begins with Benson in full roar before the time signature changes and triples, feeling like a bebop tune more than anything else. The album closes on another Benson original with Laws popping in again. The way Chapell rides the cymbal like a bell is particularly satisfying. His funky articulation of fifths and then eighths in his break is mesmerizing. The Latin rhythm and slippery guitar by Benson pull the rhythm section up a notch before he begins the head. The band then takes on Freddie Hubbard's "Sky Dive" with real aplomb. The entwining harmonic interplay between the two is gorgeous and goes on for over ten minutes. ![]() ![]() Hipper is the long snaky groove of Benson's own "Gone," with begins with the steady pulse of Hubert Laws playing a counterpoint foil on flute. (Perhaps Taylor understood Benson's crossover appeal he would cross over into the pop charts on Warner the next year with "This Masquerade.") The crowd dug it, but it's simply OK over the test of time. The concert version of the tune - on which Benson takes a vocal - has been added to with the substitution of the rhythm section and the later addition of a string orchestra in the studio. The version of "Summertime" here could have been recorded by Phil Spector. ![]() Organist Ronnie Foster's backing skills here are indispensable, as they keep Benson talking to the other members of the band. Regardless, this is a solid "live" effort with Benson cooking on all burners, beginning with a monster version of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," which had been cut on an earlier album and had become a staple in the live set. There was some additional recording done at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in 1976, where Taylor replaced the original rhythm section of Wayne Dockery on bass and Marvin Chapell on drums with Will Lee and Steve Gadd, for whatever reason Taylor had at the time. ![]() In Concert - Carnegie Hall is George Benson's final recording for Creed Taylor's CTI label, and was mostly recorded on one night in 1975. ![]()
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