Great album by George Benson that reached the top of the pop charts in the U.S., surprising for someone who had played with Miles Davis in the 1960’s and recorded jazz records on CTI to that point. But his first album on Warner Bros. records won two Grammy awards, including Record of the Year This Masquerade, the only non-instrumental song on the album and an unlikely success because of how rare Benson’s songs featured vocals. The rest of the songs are pretty accessible jazz performances, and represent a transition from George Benson’s signature jazz guitar style into what would become smooth jazz, along with some standout songs like Breezin’ and Affirmation.
1976’s Breezin‘ showcases Benson’s guitar playing and the path to pop success he would take. The single Breezin’ was written by Bobby Womack and produced by Tommy LiPuma, who also produced a recording of the song by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo in 1971, but this is the version that became a smooth jazz classic and one of Benson’s best known songs. Affirmation is a great funky song that supports this strong album, while Six to Four features a MiniMoog solo from Ronnie Foster, who also contributed electric piano and keyboards to the album. It was a turning point in the musical career of George Benson, and a transition into a different style that would be rewarded with pop music success. This album has sold over three million copies and I’m sure you’ve seen it at a record store, I found it for $1.
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