I DON’T FEAR THAT JAZZ MUSIC WILL FADE AWAY
George Benson tells ALEX GREEN his beloved genre is going nowhere as he prepares to play the Royal Albert Hall
GEORGE BENSON has scored number ones, played with musical greats such as Miles Davis, Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder, and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But at the moment, the 78-yearold pioneering jazz-soul guitarist and singer cares about one thing: getting back on the road.
“I started travelling when I was 19-years-old,” he explains from Paradise Valley in Arizona.
“It’s been go, go, go. But it’s been the most interesting thing because I got a chance to see the different parts of the world and experience different kinds of music, different attitudes.”
George tells me he found lockdown challenging. But in June, he will return to the UK for a tour that includes a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Such a prestigious venue is no big deal for George, who has ample experience performing in both shoebox jazz clubs and stadiums.
“Not only is it a very sophisticated hall for all kinds of sophisticated uses, but the average people, the music industry people, normal people that you bump into every day – they love going to the Royal Albert Hall,” he says with audible excitement in his voice.
“For me it’s like a second home, musically speaking, that is.”
Across his six-decade career, George has gone from playing the ukelele in his native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to traversing pop, rock, funk, disco, soul and jazz.
He’s a sprightly conversationalist with an infectious laugh and, unsurprisingly, has a catalogue of fantastic stories at his disposal.
His biggest concert came in 1985 at Rock In Rio festival, where he played to a quarter of a million fans.
An estimated 1.4 million people attended the 10-day-long festival, which had Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Yes among its line-up.
“I had never played in Brazil before that, so I was playing to different audiences.
“Matter of fact, they were protesting me at the airport.
“I thought they were welcoming me because that concert was already sold out – 350,000 tickets gone. So I’m thinking, ‘These got to be my fans here’. They told me later they were protestors.
“The concert was called Rock in Rio and they had the top rock bands in the world – some of them. Whitesnake and people like that. And we were not rock people. So that’s what they were protesting.
“But when we were finished with the show, they were downstairs screaming their heads off, ‘George Benson!”’
His manager at the time explained the protestors’ volte-face: he had featured Brazilian musicians in his show.
“I had a 30 or 60-piece orchestra – I can’t remember now – and I used Ivan Lins, who was a local star, and he had been on my album Give Me The Night,” he recalls.
Give Me The Night, the international smash released in June 1980 that gave its name to the album, remains George’s calling card.
He tells me he was initially unsure about the vocal delivery super-producer Quincy Jones coaxed out of him in the studio.
Until his young son heard the track, that is.
“Quincy Jones sent me a test pressing for Give Me The Night,” he reflects.
“I took it out and I was worried about the new vocal he made me perform on it, because he wanted attitude. He wanted one of those crazy vocals.
“My 10-year-old son walked over to me and said, ‘Dad, can you put that song on that goes alright, tonight?’ and I knew this was going to be gigantic.”
Musicians often have complicated relationships with their biggest songs – but not George. “I promised myself many years ago that if ever got a hit record I was not going to rob the people,” he says. “I was going to play that hit because it was a hit because of them.
“I came to that conclusion because a lot of my friends in the music business had hit records over the years, and they would not play their hit record.”
Putting on an entertaining imitation of a stroppy star, he adds: “I’m tired of playing that song... I’m not playing it no more!”
In recent years, George has bolstered his own output by collaborating with contemporary stars such as Mary J Blige and Gorillaz. He credits his children with keeping him in the know.
“The good thing about my life is that my sons are in that category you were talking about just now,” he says when asked about his motivations.
“They bring the new music into the house with them... they keep me informed on everything going on in the streets.”
At his core, George remains a jazz guitarist and has high hopes for the future of the genre. Does he think the popularity of the genre will ever fade?
“I don’t fear that,” he says with confidence. “Jazz music is like classical music. It’s going to be around a long, long time.
“There are great bands that put music out there that captures your imagination and makes you jump up and down and dance. Jazz is not going anywhere.”
So I’m thinking, ‘These got to be my fans here’. They told me later they were protestors... On being met by angry crowds in Brazil