And that’s because I practice
virtually every day. Still do.
What kind of stuff do you
work on now?
Ideas mostly, things that people
have not heard. Like that thing
we did with “Danny Boy.” I
worked on that for a long time
before I got enough nerve to
bring it out. I’ve got a lot of dif-
ferent formulas, and I use them
whenever they seem to fit. Say, for
instance, my solo on “Tequila.”
I started off playing nothing but
basic triads with an octave on top.
As simple as it sounds, in certain
circumstances it works very well.
you work on to get it to such a
high level?
When I got to New York and
found all these guys with all this
fabulous technique—Pat Martino
and Grant Green and a few others—I said, “Man, I’m not gonna
be able to make it here.” I knew
I couldn’t match those guys. So I
started devising my own method
and reexamined the fingerboard.
If you play a standard guitar,
where you’re playing across the
fingerboard, you’re playing down
the fingerboard instead of going
up. If I move my hands in the
direction, slide them up as I
play the notes, then it’s a logical
progression. That kind of thing.
I had to examine that over and
over again until I got it right. I’m
moving in the direction that the
sound is suggesting. It’s all about
getting from point A to point B.
So I said, “Well, let me try it this
way.” And I said, “Whoa! This
is much simpler—and I can be
much more accurate if I do it
this way.”
Your technique is phenomenal.
In the beginning, what did
Musicians are also in awe of
your seemingly flawless sense
YouTube It
For a taste of George Benson in action, check out
the following clips on You Tube.com.
Benson scat sings with Dizzy Gillespie,
then takes a jaw-dropping guitar solo
(from 7:48–8: 58) that will make you
want to quit the guitar.
You Tube search term: George Benson
and Dizzy Gillespie - Blues
This rare clip shows Benson in a less-
formal setting, playing Miles Davis’ “So
What” with a killer band featuring drum-
mer Jeff “Tain” Watts and other notable
musicians. His killer solo starts at 5: 25 and
features nearly three minutes of fretboard-
melting modal madness.
You Tube search term: George Benson -
So What, Live in Pori Jazz 1988
Benson makes his guitar sound like bagpipes on this solo rendition of “Danny
Boy.” In addition to the chordal mastery
on display here, check out how Benson
articulates even the quickest of single-note
runs with his right-hand thumb—
particularly in the cadenza (3:00–3:08).
You Tube search term: George Benson -
Danny Boy Guitar Solo
