It’s a very simple equation, the National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master says of the longevity of his career and the ten Grammy Awards that have punctuated it along the way. In the end, it’s about the songs and the stories. That’s what keeps the music fresh for me. That’s what keeps me coming back. If you come up with a great melody and put the right lyrics to it, I’m immediately excited. That excitement is evident in his new release, Songs and Stories. The album is a collection of tunes penned by some of the most prolific and enduring songwriters of the last half-century, including James Taylor, Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway and several others.
By the early ’60s, Benson had joined organist Jack McDuff’s band _ a gig that was educational but short-lived. He left to form his own band and launch his solo career with the 1964 album, The New Boss Guitar (a nod to Montgomery’s album, Boss Guitar, released just a year earlier). The album caught the attention of legendary Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond, who signed him to the label. Benson recorded two solo albums for Columbia and played session dates for numerous other artists, including Miles Davis’ 1968 opus, Miles in the Sky.
He left Columbia in the late ’60s and the 1976 blockbuster album, Breezin’, that marked the beginning of a long association with Warner Brothers. The first jazz record to achieve platinum sales, Breezin’ yielded a number of hits, including the instrumental title track, the soulful update of Leon Russell’s This Masquerade and the lively Give Me The Night.
Throughout the remainder of the ’70s and into the ’80s, Benson and LiPuma crafted a string of great records that collectively cemented the guitarist’s global reputation. In the mid-’90s, Benson followed LiPuma to the GRP label, where the two basically picked up where they’d left off at Warners. High points from the period include That’s Right (1996) and Standing Together (1998). Since the start of the millennium, Benson has shown no signs of slowing down. Some of his more notable offerings of the past decade include Absolute Benson (2000), the sexy and soulful Irreplaceable (2004), and Givin’ It Up (2006), a duet recording with Al Jarreau that scored two Grammy Awards. Songs and Stories, the followup to Givin’ It Up, is an equally satisfying affair.
