George Benson

As an ace jazz guitarist with a husky syncopated voice, George Benson straddled the line between Quiet Storm R&B and adult contemporary during the mid-1970s and early 1980s. His singles from that era sound both of the time and utterly ageless: "Turn Your Love Around" predated the Police's "Roxanne," with...

By Christian Schaeffer

March 19, 2009

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As an ace jazz guitarist with a husky syncopated voice, George Benson straddled the line between Quiet Storm R&B and adult contemporary during the mid-1970s and early 1980s. His singles from that era sound both of the time and utterly ageless: "Turn Your Love Around" predated the Police's "Roxanne," with its profession of love for a working girl; "Give Me the Night" shimmers with the electric pulse of anticipation; and his live recording of "On Broadway" has become the definitive version of the classic. Benson has worked his way back into the jazz world over the past few decades; his most recent studio album, Givin' It Up, was released in 2006, and saw him paired up with fellow pop-soul crossover Al Jarreau. The album revisited Benson's hit "Breezin'" alongside covers of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze" and Darryl Hall's "Every Time You Go Away," adding some soulful crooning and smooth-jazz instrumentation to these soft-rock classics. This evening at the Seminole Hard Rock is billed as a tribute to Nat King Cole, so expect plenty of reworkings of the late jazz great's classics.

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