‘What happened?’ I have talked a lot about retirement, but I do still love doing it. And I see the money coming in and think, ‘I can’t retire this year.’ Then 10 years slips by. “I’ve been saying I’m retiring for 30 years now,” he says. The record is the latest failure in Benson’s efforts to retire. “The audience gives its vibe back to you quickly when they’re right in front of you,” he says.
And the slick album that comes from it is his first live recording of vocal music since “Weekend in L.A.” 42 years ago. The show was his first at the venue in 45 years. The audience in this case was a fortunate few: Benson recorded at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, far cozier confines than he’s grown accustomed to over the years. If things go downhill, you play a hot one.” No retirement plans And it gives you the opportunity to feel out an audience. “This is the way we like to do it,” Benson says. Guitar heads have ample opportunity to hear him play beautifully on the record, and those who love his vocal hits will find many of their favorites in a set that speaks to the attributes of his band, which allows him space to play the melody of each song with ample room for improvisation around it. Your commercial stuff ain’t nothing, man.’ Well, I wanted to do something different.”īenson, 77, this week releases “Weekend in London,” a startling live album that draws from throughout his successful career with an emphasis on the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, when Benson slipped away from jazz for great success as a pop/R&B singer and guitarist. He slips into a grumbling caricature of a voice. So Benson heard plenty of complaints over the years. About what? He said you just have to put something out that people want to hear, and they’ll buy it.” Years later, he came back to me and told me I was right. “Aren’t there like 3.5 billion people on the planet, man? He told me the greatest jazz artists in the world might sell 20,000. “I thought, ‘Man, that sounds terrible,’” Benson says. The legendary record producer John Hammond - who nurtured jazz careers such as those of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, as well as the rock careers of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen - told Benson he was likely to sell about 3,000 to 6,000 copies of guitar-led jazz. He recalls days as a hotshot jazz guitarist in his 20s during the 1960s.
George Benson thinks back, way back, and laughs at the path not taken. George Benson released "Weekend in London," a new live album in 2020.
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