Inspired by Wes Montgomery and long famed for his unison guitar and scat lines, guitarist George Benson was to have done eight UK shows next month. Due to the pandemic, these have been rescheduled to June 2022.
Now aged 78, Benson is renowned for albums such as the 1977 Breezin’, which launched his smooth yet virtuosic crossover style. In his biography he described himself as progressing “from blues cat to blues-jazz cat … from blues-jazz cat to jazz cat … from jazz cat to soul-jazz cat … and from soul-jazz cat to R&B-jazz cat.”
Serious jazz followers may recall his appearance, soloing rather minimally, on Paraphernalia from Miles Davis’s Miles On The Sky (1968) and for his sterling playing alongside Herbie Hancock and Billy Cobham on a cooking Billie’s Bounce, included as a bonus track on the 2002 Polydor reissue of the 1968 album Giblet Gravy.
His June appearances next year may be of a different order, the press release talking of Benson performing “his Greatest Hits from his impressive back catalogue – which includes such classics as Give Me The Night, Lady Love Me (One More Time), Turn Your Love Around, Inside Love , Never Give Up On A Good Thing and In Your Eyes and more…”
Tickets issued for 2021 will remain valid. New tickets, priced £45-90, are available from www.ticketline.co.uk / 0844 888 9991 or from the venues direct.
The new dates for June 2022 are:
17th – Bournemouth International Centre
19th – Cardiff St David’s Hall
20th – Manchester Bridgewater Hall
22nd – Leeds First Direct Arena
24th – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
26th – London Royal Albert Hall
28th – Birmingham Symphony Hall
29th – Southend Cliffs Pavilion
