{"id":13167,"date":"2024-03-15T20:44:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=13167"},"modified":"2024-03-15T22:53:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T22:53:12","slug":"music-media-george-benson-interviewed-by-rick-beato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=13167","title":{"rendered":"MUSiC\/MEDiA: George Benson, interviewed by Rick Beato"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FrkvnzdKObY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow! This is so good. George Benson is incredible. Not just a great guitarist, great singer, or even just great musician. He\u2019s also a great storyteller, and clearly a great human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I recall, when working for <em>Drummer<\/em> magazine, interviewing several drummers. George comes over here like Omar Hakim did, when I interviewed him. Eloquent, loquacious, just a plain pleasure to talk with and listen to. Full of passion for his art, and loaded to the gunwhales with great stories, wit and wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8930-1-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-13172\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8930-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8930-1-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8930-1-768x432.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8930-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A beautiful man with a beautiful guitar making beautiful music. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s so refreshing how open and humble he is. In fact, it\u2019s astonishing. He\u2019s like a force of nature, somehow. And a bit of a sage. He can be simple, and bluesy, or complex and philosophical. In speech and thought, as well as musically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve loved Benson since childhood. Thanks to a copy of <em>In Flight<\/em> that my parents had kicking around, back when I was a kid. Watching this I just want to dig deeper into his catalogue. Maybe explore his Jack McDuff stuff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"687\" height=\"1022\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8934-1.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-13171\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8934-1.jpg 687w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_8934-1-202x300.jpg 202w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 687px) 100vw, 687px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I thought Yanks said \u2018ass\u2019, not \u2018bum\u2019!?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I loved this interview so much I posted the following comment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Wow! That\u2019s hands down my favourite musician interview ever. Seriously. <br><br>I\u2019ve loved George Benson and his music since childhood. Thanks to a copy of \u2018In Flight\u2019 that I grew up with. His version of The World Is A Ghetto is one of my favourite recordings EVER. The synergy in the ensemble is beyond brilliant. <br><br>Rick, you do a great job of both prompting George, and yet - as Benson himself says, when talking about musical sensitivity, - keeping out of the way. Well done! <br><br>And George\u2026 what can we say, but we love you. A great singer, a great guitarist, a great musician, a great storyteller, and an all round great human being. <br><br>Incredibly accomplished, and yet so disarmingly open and humble. What a great example! Qualities like love and humility are undervalued in our times, and George Benson exudes these like a boxer produces sweat. Like his music, greatness and goodness seem to flow from him. <br><br>I don\u2019t usually go in for \u2018gushing fanboy\u2019 type comments. But I was blown away by this wonderful interview. Thank you Rick. Thank you George! We love you \u2665\ufe0f<br><br><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3ef0kThw5VY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The very definition of joy in music.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rick plays a few snippets of Benson\u2019s playing and singing during the interview, including some of the unison guitar and vocal stuff from the above rendition of On Broadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lyrics (my italics) fit Benson like a glove:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">They say I won't last too long on Broadway<br>I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home, they all say<br>But they're dead wrong, I know they are<br><em>'Cause I can play this guitar<\/em><br>And I won't quit til I'm a star on Broadway<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Before watching it, I texted a link to the interview to my jazz guitarist friend, and fellow Beato watcher, Pat. After watching it I texted again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">It's hands down my favourite Beato thing. George is an absolute legend. He's as good a storyteller as he is guitarist\/vocalist. And that someone as hugely talented and successful as he is can also be so open, down to earth and humble!? Beyond brilliant, in my opinion. And GB is 81!!! But still has the zesty lust for life of a wide-eyed kid. I think he's touring the UK this year. I'd love to see him perform. <br><br><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I9HZe5vP5-M?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dig the awesomeness\u2026 The World Is A Ghetto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wow! This is so good. George Benson is incredible. Not just a great guitarist, great singer, or even just great musician. He\u2019s also a great storyteller, and clearly a great human being. I recall, when working for Drummer magazine, interviewing several drummers. George comes over here like Omar Hakim did, when I interviewed him. Eloquent, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=13167\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MUSiC\/MEDiA: George Benson, interviewed by Rick Beato&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-3qn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13167"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13167"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13173,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13167\/revisions\/13173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}