George Benson News Archives

The lengthy list of free Pasadena-area summer concerts continues growing Sunday with the Playhouse District's Jazz Summer Concert at Vroman's courtyard on Colorado Boulevard, with guitarist Jacques Lesure and his group on tap.

If it's jazz you're craving, no need to hold that wish for next week's Detroit International Jazz Festival.

If it's jazz you're craving, no need to hold that wish for next week's Detroit International Jazz Festival.

If it's jazz you're craving, no need to hold that wish for next week's Detroit International Jazz Festival.

Fans of smooth jazz appreciated guitarist/vocalist George Benson 's last album, 2006's Givin' It Up , a collaboration with Al Jarreau .

Ask George Benson whether he's a guitarist or a vocalist first and he'll simply answer, "Both." "I put so much time on each instrument," he says by phone from Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Too bad. "Songs and Stories" continues Benson's string of albums that give smooth jazz a good name, replete with terrific song choices , breezy-but-soulful singing and enough undiluted jazz soloing and scatting to remind you of his organ-trio roots.

George Benson. Photo credit: Greg Allen, from the album cover, Songs And Stories .

Guitarist Norman Brown is one of the headliners at the Long Beach Jazz Festival.

Guitarist Norman Brown is one of the headliners at the Long Beach Jazz Festival.

The album is a collection of tunes penned by some of the most prolific and enduring songwriters of the last half-century. Some were written specifically for this new recording, such as Bill Withers' , Rod Temperton's "Family Reunion" and Lamont Dozier's "Living in High Definition"; while others, including James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely ...

Macedonia hosted a batch of exciting concerts recently that packed stadiums and concert halls across the country.

Guitarist Norman Brown is one of the headliners at the Long Beach Jazz Festival.

When it comes to jazz, there's San Francisco. And then there's New York City. In San Francisco, a star may filter through occasionally.

Paul Brown's talents as producer/engineer have earned him two Grammy Awards and an impressive string of more than 40 number one hits on ~Radio & Records' smooth jazz chart.