George Benson on first learning about Wes.
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2023
- George Benson reflects on how he first heard of Wes Montgomery, then first heard him play. But, he says, it was another member of the traveling Montgomery musicians who first suggested George should play jazz guitar.
Can everyone agree, not only a gentleman, not only a musician, but a PHENOMINAL story teller
I remember when George was a kid playing a ukulele for change outside of the Hurricane club in Pittsburg. He was a stone cold child genius.
I just found out he recorded a single with a vocal ("It Should Have Been Me #2") as an 11-year-old in 1954. I'd heard he was a child prodigy who could also sing and dance, but I didn't realize he'd actually been recorded as one--I guess I need to read his memoir to learn more about him.
If he'd been 10 years younger, he might have been a child recording artist for Motown a la Little Stevie Wonder. I'm kind of glad he was already in to his jazz career at the that point :).
George can tell a story like no one else. Someone should do a documentary about his life while he can still recount those stories. It's a shame we only recognize greatness after we lose it.
They're doing a biopic on him. I met him at a tire shop in Arizona where he lives.
He has an amazing modesty for someone who's basically as good as it gets!
Man, I’m 59 . . . I don’t know how I’d react if I met GB at a tire shop. I have his flagship model guitar, the LGB300 and Wes’ preferred axe, the Gibson L5. Since I can play, I’d likely say let’s talk guitar and jam. I’d imagine he react how my good friend told me how George reacted at an airport in Europe where Art Blakely, out of no where, asked him for $10,000. (He politely brushed him off. lol). More likely, I’d tell him I appreciate his influences on my playing (something he’s heard a million times and leave it at that.).
Absolute living legend. Humility like this just adds to his legend. Thank you, George.
His book is GREAT and he NEVER has a bad word about anyone. A great man, great musician with a ton of class.
George is so humble and retains such youthful love for the guitar and music in general, a true legend and one of the greatest of all time! Thanks for all the great music man.
Amen.
And Amen.
GOD bless you forever, dear George.
George is one of the best guitarist ever and Wes is one of the most influential guitarist in history!!!! He totally transformed and altered the way jazz guitar was played and heard! Wes was to jazz guitar what hi definition tv was to tv. Once you experience either, you can never go back!!!
Bumpin on sunset
😂
😂
I had the honor and priviledge to work on a project with George Benson. It will forever be one of the highlights of my life. He was JUST like he was in this video. I smiled all the way through this, as he tells his story because it was the same exact way when he spoke to me! I worked both as contractor and background singer for his tribute to Nat King Cole dates back in the 2009, and I plugged him for information on everything I could thing of! I was on cloud nine for I don't know how long!
Great story...it's awesome to know a hero of yours is also a great human being
Wes Montgomery. One of the greatest guitar players ever!
George Benson. One of the greatest guitar players ever!
@@ralex3697 he was influenced by wes Montgomery
Awesome story! I too, was encouraged by BUDDY MONTGOMERY to play more jazz. He liked my tenor sax playing so much, that he hired me to work with him for about a year. George and I are KINDRED SPIRITS in this regard. ❤😀🙏🏽
Mr. George Benson is the envy of most performers on the planet.Appreciating and being inspired by his astonishing abilities gives inspiration to the jazz
world.I love his instrumentals.
George, a beautiful, inspiring legend! 🙏🏼
Beautiful testimony from George Benson! The 60's, another space and time!
Thanks for posting this. A great story told by a great guitarist about a great guitarist. Their humility is what sets them apart . The ones that are so full of themselves are just tricksters , all tricks no music. The great ones create music that is timeless!
Facts ❤
Wes Montgomery's posthumous last album 'ROAD SONG' came out shortly before George Benson's 'SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME.' Both were on A&M/CTI in 1968.
Excellent sit-down with such a class act, talking about the cats who inspired him. Candid, articulate, so talented.
George Benson is a genius. Has anyone listened to his album (White Rabbit) it is over 20 years old and it is a Masterpiece....
Over FORTY years old
Stunning!
Benson is 80 years old and looks great
And he's been married to the same woman for 58 years!
Also, Anthony Montgomery, who portrayed Travis Mayweather on the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise
Is the grandson of Wes Montgomery
This is absolute GOLD! 2 AM can't sleep here in Bangkok, open the laptop and MR MASQUERADE himself, who I rarely see in an interview, speaking of a man my Father introduced me to as a kid. THIS WAS GOLD.
One of my all time favorite guitar players 🎸👍🏽
What an absolutely wonderful story, and so engaging! Mr.George Benson is one of the greats.
So interesting to hear George speak on his early days. These guys work hard to get to where they are. They stay in the game, don't give up. Keep practicing and make your contacts.
I was lucky enough to see Mr Benson in concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1980. All I can say is that it was magical! OMG, the man was on fire. What a magnificent talent. What a style. What an absolute dreamboat! Good Lord above, thank you for that marvelous day. I will never, ever forget it. 😇🥰
Good Meetings are Essentials ....Keys of Life . George BENSON'' s magnetism is irresistible .
George Benson. Wow. He's very private. My first time in life hearing his voice. Love u George. I think DJ Spen remixed your jam love ballad. When I workout, I listen to this jam repeatedly. Thank u GB.
This man is breezin! Have alot of his work almost from the beginning. Playing and especially singing. What a talent. This is a pleasure to view😊
It's like he's talking to me. Legend among Legends, the great George Benson. Wow, it just feels good watching him narrate his jazz roots. 😊
he looks the same! has not changed ❤
So Wes was his hero (we all knew this), but Buddy was his inspiration...
What a great story...
...and what an object lesson about how honest encouragement from a seasoned veteran can change the life of a talented up-and-comer.
He’s a very good story teller
George is the one that turned me on to Wes And Nat King Cole. I had the pleasure of talking to him years ago when his record "The Other Side of Abbey Road" was out. My brother ran a theater in Cincinnati that showed "art movies",and on the weekends he had Jazz musicians come in. I was a kid at the time,and told George I loved the way he played and sang,and he told me I should listen to Wes Montgomery play and Nat King Cole sing. Prior to that,I had never heard a musician praise others instead of himself. George is forever my hero.
I met Mr Benson at Bakers Keyboard in Detroit in 1971…he played with Lonnie Liston Smith and a bari sax guy….old women’s style show goin on, it was a Sunday afternoon as I remember it…probably 20-30 people in the bar, maybe 4 listening to the trio…a break bought him a drink and talked. I’ll never forget that moment, I was 20 yr old aspiring guitarist. In my mind Wes was the best I ever heard on that axe…..George Benson blew my mind! Read an article in Guitar Magazine with an interview with Terry Kath of the group Chicago, who was no slouch on guitar, and that article turned me on to George Benson. Kath said Benson was the best he ever heard…that was enough for me….Wes and George…top of the pile👌
I owned the LP "Wes Montgomery and His Brothers". Loaned it to someone and never got it back. Damn. Fantastic album, highly recommended.And if I could go back in time for music I would choose two concerts. Wolfgang A. Mozart playing in Vienna Austria in the 1700's, and Wes Montgomery and his brothers playing in Pittsburg Pa. in the 1960's. What a mind blower that would be! Also thanks George for all the great music and for the Ibanez GB guitar. I will own one one day!
Wow! A great Jazz man,, but also a great storyteller...
I'm no expert and I have not heard them all but this is the best story I've ever heard told by a musician
Listen to Wes Montgomery has child Memorable 💯❤
Love this... Wes and then came George my all time 2 favorite jazz guitar players....! Wes was unbelievable... A Hoosier from Indianapolis...!
Love , Love Mr. George Benson.
His music 🎵🎶 is amazing but what's
Amazing to me is this is the first time I ever heard this beautiful man speak vocally. 😁 🤷🏽♀️🙋🏽♀️👸🏽♉💯🤎✌🏾✊🏾🌎❤️🕊️👍🏽😁
A great musician, a down to earth fella, a amiable uncle, wonderful human being. I saw him play 16yrs ago smh 🔥
I have always loved George! What an artist!
Carry on George !
We've listened to, and enjoyed your music over the years here in the Caribbean.
You should pay us a visit.
Trinidad & Tobago.
West Indies.
It's so ironic I was just in Pittsburgh last week and George Benson came into my mine being from the Burg I'm loving this story This guy is a giant paying homage to the master
Mind
Man Benson is so cool and down! What a great gentleman and of couse one of the greatest ever.
When I was touring back in the 90s I got to see and meet George and the band. Buddy Williams and Stanley Banks were with him. You couldn’t meet a more positive energetic and encouraging person than George. Class in the highest form is an appropriate description. Someone said it perfectly : George doesn’t grow old he just evolves.
That was a great band. And Stanley and Buddy are like George glad to say.
I could listen to George tell music stories all day long. His speaking voice is like his guitar playing.
How did we get from a George Benson to a Snoop Dogg or a Jay Z? My heart weeps.
How did we get from George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green , Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass & Earl klugh to Peter White??🤔
GB is certainly one of the greatest players of ALL time. Has been one of my greatest inspirations throughout my musical journey from WAY back. Always enjoy his videos, wether conversing or playing. Have seen him live many times all the way back to Trenton State College before he skyrocketed to superstardom.
George benson was my inspiration to pick up a guitar 37 years ago after i heard the album breathing. I learned so much from him and the late Kieth Brady, a great guitarist i met in st Kilda, Melbourne Australia, a great George fan as well.
George has touched so many people with his brilliant guitar skills and personality.
Long live George and great thanks.
I find it very cool how one of the world's greatest musicians talks about another one of the world's greatest musicians. I wonder how many hours a day he practiced- George that is
I've been to lots and lots of concerts. The best concert I ever went to (as far as just awesome music) was George Benson at the Grand Ole Opry concert venue in Nashville. 1978. Man, the place was swinging.
Incredible. Excellent interviewer; he knew when to lay out.
It's really cool hearing these old stories. Some interesting history here.
Looks much younger than 80, only the voice gives out his age.
What a great MAN….
His music although masterful does have a humility about it. He plays I. A manner that doesn’t say he’s above you rather that he’s asking you to join him on his journey.
🎼 They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway .🎶
Got into jazz doing a school report on Wes.. wonders
LOVE the great George Benson.....Legend
I remember George playing behind Gladis Knight when I was with the Supremes after Diane Ross left the group in 1974 on a review road tour before he became famous for his 1st album and hit" Breezin". It was about 4-7 other guitarist with various Motown acts. And George was back stage warming up before the show we were all around him watching like stink on Do Do. His fingers looked like they were literally disappeared. Then he gave us some basic jazz music theory. After that I really started to understand my instrument . He like Wes, is an idol.
GB looks great! He is The Michael Jordan of jazz guitar. Don’t get me wrong though.. there wouldn’t be a George Benson without Wes Montgomery(and others as well I’m sure). But Montgomery set the bar so high with his LINES, feel and his funky POCKET. There was NO wrong notes with Wes(at least when he was playing them). What he was able to do with the octaves and the block chords was amazing, because of the melodic ideas he was building on. Gees.. I love them both so much..more please 🙏
You can understand from what he says why The Greatest are The Greatest..it's all about the attitude
"Awww, he can't be no good, his a Cowboy"...LMAO....Too funny!!! I love Mr Benson!
OH! WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE SOMEONE TO ENCOURAGE YOU AND BELIEVE IN YOU TOO!!
Wonderful story from the master
Class act all around -my brother.
Outside of my late older brother TRIPLE OUTSTANDING GENTLEMAN, Anthony "Ant" Cannady, Uncle George, was one of Coach Rob'$, inspirations, to desire learning the art of the bass 🎸! ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
GOAT
George is a great story teller ❤
My favorite guitarist speaks on my other favorite guitarist! So glad he got to meet him and that he took his advice to play jazz guitar!
A good friend of mine was named after Wes. “Wesmn France” is one class act.
George BAD Benson ❤
George Benson , the best of the best !
I love George Benson.
Great story! The importance of ENCOURAGEMENT!!
Wes a Hoosier from Indy one of the greatest, EVER…! Love George too, actually my two favorites all time!
George’s Affirmation is a classic, I just love that number.
Love to hear George talk about music
My mentor sir George Benson sitting with Wes’s son i don’t know if the viewers realized that , this man right changed and carved my guitar playing!
Freddie Hubbard and George Benson, a match made in heaven.
Thank you for sharing that story brother! ❤
Down here on the ground you rocked the chocolate city with ice man I grew up with your vibes thanks Mr G Benson
I sooooo love George!!!!!!
He's so different from what I expected. Great interview!
Finally saw George live at a outdoor venue called 'Wolf Trap' in Northern Virginia. My middle teenage years we moved in the same area as the late great guitarist Bill Harris who pioneered solo jazz guitar and was principal guitarist and stage coordinator for the DC Clovers Bebop group. I finally did a four session consultation with Bill when I was around 30. I went backstage and asked George did he know Bill? He said yes of course. Are you in contact with him? I said yes. George said, make sure you tell Bill I said hello. George gave tens of guitars to anybody he saw or heard of, that was out gigging and had skill. A guy in the DC area named Paul Bollenback attracted George's attention and he gave Paul a signature George Benson guitar. George invited Jonathan Butler to play with him on stage. Jonathan said George shipped him a guitar all the way to Africa. I heard a organist do a interview on a DC radio station named Solano Clark (I hope that's the correct spelling). I called the station and we connected. When he found out I played the guitar, he asked me did I have anything recorded. I had three original songs I had put on a demo tape. He gave it to George. He told me George said something like: tell that guy he got chops and is a very good arranger. Vintage George, always nice, supportive, encouraging. Did I hear the interviewer say he was the son of Wes Montgomery? Whenever Wes was in the DC area, he would look up my Bill. He even dropped by Bill Harris's club called The Pigfoot in d.c. Bill dedicated a song to him he titled the West Montgomery suite. George heard the early version of Wes when he was playing straight jazz with his Brothers. The record label replaced his brothers with their own backup musicians when they recorded more commercially sensitive material like A Day in Life. That album made Wes more of a public figure. He did lose a lot of jazz purest though. Although I heard Wes from my childhood, I didn't really know what he was doing until I started getting serious. Like George said, Wes could play chords and octaves as fast as he could play single notes all with his thumb. It was like that dude was almost not human. It was good to hear one legend talk about another legend. Great interview and video mr. Montgomery..
True iconic Artist The WORLD 🌍 should celebrate George Benson.peace
More music, more love.
George Benson at his worst is better than 99.99 percent of all other guitar players at their very best.
Man, this dude's memory is in HD1080p
You know it's all good when you say "I love this!", to your phone. Which I did.
Beautiful story.❤
For Robert and really everyone else, this is a labor of love. Robert and I are around the same age. I remember hearing Wes while traveling down I-75 to Florida from Detroit during a vacation in 1973 when I was about 9. My father borrowed my uncle’s 8 track tapes of Wes’ commercial work. I remember hearing the music while reading the box. I felt a sadness that I cannot describe because I knew he died. I remember the almost haunting sounds of the octaves. Even at that tender age, somehow I knew and understood his passing was nothing less than devastating -almost like I was a part of that family. In 1980, I got that Verve double album as I was getting serious with the instrument and already been exposed to Bird. (I still have that album.). First song I played was “Impressions” . . . At 16, I was completely blown away by the time I finished listening and remain so to this day!!! Seeing his son. . . I still get that knot in my stomach like 50 years ago. I saw a picture of the Montgomery house and almost burst into tears. Call me crazy, I saw that house in a dream when I was little. I saw all the cars lined up on the street and people were coming and going from I didn’t know what was going in that dream but I could sense it was a very sad and solemn occasion. I can’t listen to Robert’s account of that horrible day . . .I don’t know why . . . you had a larger than life figured was suddenly gone. I’m glad I got this off my chest concerning Wes and that June 15th day - a few days before my 4th birthday.
nice house, george! well deserved! ❤
Living legend❤
Very nice George you were inspired by the best did you know that Wes wife built him a sound proof room in their home ? When he got going i could just imagine one of my favorites is his down on the ground albums it's mellow compared to his normal rhythm.
The legend himself.
Great interview - thanks for sharing this for fans of Wes and George 😀
This was enthralling. Wow George, I could listen to your stories forever. ❤❤❤
Wes Montgomery was the greatest modern, innovative guitarist to set the standards of jazz... bravo.....Wes....bravo!
George is a helluva musician and a great singer! God bless him!
Lovely George!
You're such a great man George. I'm not even gonna comment on your musicianship.