Well-tempered end-60s soul-jazz on Verve: the fourth album by George Benson swings and grooves from all corners, bristles with intelligent horn arrangements, and, above all, leaves plenty of room for the centerpiece on the guitar. With the High Society of Jazz like Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, or Billy Cobham as backing, the whole album is a real statement: Here a star is being built up who is intended for higher realms. The fact that in the selection of tracks such as ‚Sunny‘ or ‚Walk on by‘ the zeitgeist was taken into account, does not hurt the recording – on the contrary: Mr. Benson can extract even the most trivial melodies at the same time with fire and coolness.

The high-spirited improvising, the deep strong sound of his guitar, and his lithe, irresistible beat do not immediately suggest that Mr. Benson was the leader of the most successful rock band in his native Pittsburgh in his youth. But that’s probably where the compatibility of his highly sensitive, unique jazz guitar playing with current, successful musical trends comes from, without being under-complex. And the sense of the significance of groove certainly comes in part from that – George Benson is always swinging with the sound.

Stefan Mohr