George Benson, in the minds of many people, has become an embodiment of the overly smooth R&B-soul-jazz music that often blended seamlessly into smooth jazz. While his guitar skills are undeniable, most jazz enthusiasts desired him to revisit his early soul-jazz collaborations with Jack McDuff or at least his initial CTI records. These recordings, despite their smooth arrangements and overall aesthetic, often featured spontaneous improvisation and energy from the band.
'Good King Bad' was released in 1976, on the CTI label. George is a technically brilliant player with a great melodic imagination, on this record he surrounded himself with a small army of studio musicians and smothered much of the material in major key, uncomplicated string arrangements. The good news is that alongside the smooth jazz there is a fair amount of jazz-funk as well, in a way that lives up to George's considerable prowess with the guitar. The album is very much of its time, with somewhat of a stereotypical CTI production, but the playing is outstanding.
About that small army: the musicians here are no slouches. There’s David Sanborn, Michael and Randy Brecker, and James Brown stalwart Fred Wesley, for starters, as well as Joe Farrell, Roland Hanna, Ronnie Foster, Eric Gale, and Steve Gadd, along with a bunch of other horn and string players. But there’s not a "band" to speak of, as each of the tracks features a different line-up.
The title track "Theme from Good King Bad" is not a soundtrack, just the opening number. Written by arranger David Matthews (no not that Dave Matthews), the uncomplicated pop number has not an ounce of swing in the chart, just straight ahead seventies jazz rock with horns and Eric Gale’s insistent "chukka-chukka" on the rhythm guitar. It earned George a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. The album also has a very nice arraignment of
Creed Taylor's CTI label.
The formula on this album of a solid R&B-style guitarist fueling Benson’s Wes Montgomery-style guitar solos was one that George would go on to use on his first Warner Brothers album, 'Breezin'. That album was judged by many jazz fans to be a bridge too far, but it earned Benson multiple Grammy Awards, and it cemented his sound going forward.
The freeload, is in 24-bit/176kHz resolution, and it sounds sublime.
For the freeload, tell us about bands/artists you like who have changed their style a few times.
I'll open with Fleetwood Mac & Frank Zappa.
ReplyDeleteOne of the great chameleons of music, Miles Davis. BTW - my late father in law is one of the violinists on this album (he was on a ton of CTI releases), Harry Glickman.
ReplyDeleteSmall world
DeleteI briefly met Harry quite a few years back at The Russian Tea Room in Manhattan. My husband and I were there with Phil Schapp. Harry came in with some buddies, and Phil greeted Harry. After that, when Harry went to his table, Phil told us about Harry’s amazing resume.
My wife has his handwritten diary from when he toured with Gershwin. One of the most amazing stories I heard was when my wife discovered her dad's childhood. He was being forcible shipped on a train to Siberia. He was a child prodigy on violin and had his violin with him. On he train, the guards asked him to play and he did. They stopped the train and kicked hm off with hs violin in order to save him. My wife heard that not from him, but from a radio program when the announcer relayed the story. She was home with him at the time, and asked him if that was true and why hadn't he told her. His response: I didn't want to upset you.
DeleteRay Charles delved deep into a parade of American genres making them his own, and then there was Louis Armstrong who transformed himself from a gutbucket blues trumpeter into a pop star and international ambassador. Dizzy Gillespie was around for the birth of bop but he also embraced Latin jazz and helped make Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado household names.
ReplyDeleteBob Dylan, The Beatles, Brian Eno, David Byrne, David Bowie, Fripp, Miles indeed & others already named. Thanks Babs
ReplyDeleteI second the Mac ad would submit The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
ReplyDeleteOh, also: Beck and Jonathan Wilson
ReplyDeleteOK, you know me by now. Bob Dylan.
ReplyDeleteSpinal Tap
ReplyDeletePaul Weller, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Cliff Richard. Elvis Presley, Bee Gees, Four Seasons, Tommy Steele, Everly Brothers, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, The Sweet All the mainstream British Beat bands that evolved from Beat / R&B into Psych and beyond (Beatles, Zombies, Stones, Who, Kinks, Yardbirds, Fortunes, Hollies, Pretty Things, Manfred Mann, Moody Blues etc), James Brown, Fleetwood Mac, Jackie WIlson, Curtis Mayfield, Deep Purple the two Jefferson iterations (Airplane, Starship)
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for NY's reggae record.
ReplyDeleteKind of nuts I forgot Bowie, the king of changing styles. I mean, he was a mod/r&b singer, vaudeville artist, a folkie, a hard rocker, a glam rocker, a soul singer, an art rock artist, a mainstream pop singer, dabbling in drum'n'bass/industrial, and even jazz with his last record.
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole lot of costumes to change in Davey Jones' locker.
Todd Rundgren
ReplyDeleteLink
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/4HrXkkFPEaX
I think that it is normal, when creative people are making music (or any other kind of art) to change the style often.
ReplyDeleteOnly "one-hit-wonders" play always the same. What for me seems like hell on earth...
King Crimson is wonderful in all its mutations.
ReplyDeleteGreat musicianship and musicality.
Bat
Many comments already have hit the names that I would highlight.
ReplyDeleteI would submit the Grateful Dead for consideration. Their first album isn't that much like their second and third albums, and then Live/Dead is different, and not much like Mars Hotel, which isn't that much like In The Dark. Similarly, a live tape from '67 is way different from '77, which is also different from '87.
Now, compared to Bowie or Zappa, they didn't change style that much. But there are plenty of bands or artists with long careers who didn't explore or change as much.
D in California