Why George Al are givin it up

“Pure destiny” is how the pairing of George Benson and Al Jarreau has been described, never mind if it took three decades for it to be realized. Both are peerless music legends who sprang from jazz into the international R&B and pop mainstream. Between them, George and Al have harvested numerous awards and multiple golds/platinums, selling millions of records worldwide.

The duo has just come up with a landmark 13-song album titled Givin’ It Up, released by MCA Music Inc., which consists of standards ranging from the 1940s (Billie Holiday’s God Bless the Child); the 1960s (Sam Cooke’s Bring it on Home to Me featuring a surprise cameo by pop legend Paul McCartney); the 1970s (Seals & Crofts’ Summer Breeze); and the 1980s (Daryl Hall’s Everytime You Go Away). They also show respect for the music of today, inviting neo soul diva Jill Scott to sing along on God Bless the Child, and turning in a sumptuous instrumental rendition of singer/songwriter John Legend’s Ordinary People (the 2005 Grammy winner for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance) with Marion Meadows on soprano sax.

On Sept. 8, George and Al are expected to sing, among others, selections from the album during their one-night-only concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

Here are the two jazz legends talking about Givin’ It Up and other topics besides during a 20-minute interview by phone. (The STAR was the only Philippine newspaper they agreed to talk to.)

George: Well, we let it all hang up...we give it everything we’ve got. That’s what it means.

Al: There’s a song called Givin’ It Up. Of all the pieces on the album, that was the song that we thought has the best title. It has a lot of meaning, one about two artists and the band givin’ their hearts, playin’ it up, giving up their hearts and spirit and all of their good feelings for the situation. It’s a nice title beyond just the nice expression.

How were you able to convince Paul McCartney to participate in the album?

George: He happened to be doing his own record at a studio in the same building. He popped into the room to say “Hello!” to me and to meet Al Jarreau. Nobody believed that it was him! They were saying that he looked like Paul McCartney. So I said, ‘If he looks like Paul McCartney to you, then he’s Paul McCartney!” I introduced him to Al and they started playing back a song that Al and I had just recorded. Al asked Paul if he could do a song for the album and Paul said, “Yes.” And that was it; as simple as that.

Al: George has a way of asking people questions in a way that makes it difficult to refuse. First of all, he weighs about 220 lbs. Hahahahaha! And he’s as hard as Joe Frasier. Do you know who Joe Frasier is?

Al: I’m just kidding. You know, George has a way of asking questions that causes people to be so open. George is one of the premier jazz players and guitar players on the planet. Everybody knows that. Paul McCartney loves George Benson as a guitar player. If you ever sang a song as a singer and you look around for a singer who is great, George is gonna be on top of the list. So there’s a lot of appreciation of who George is as an artist. The relationship between Paul and George goes very deep. It’s spiritual and profound.

George: Al and I had already recorded the song, Sam Cooke’s Bring it on Home to Me, and they were playing it back when Paul heard it. So he decided to do a “cameo” on the song. No contract, no nothing.

How much did you pay him? Or did you have to bribe him (hehehehe!)?

George: Oh, I’ll never discuss that. We couldn’t afford Paul McCartney.

Al: How much did we pay him? A dollar and a quarter. Hahahahaha! Maybe two dollars and a quarter.

Al: Right! He can play so many different kinds of music and that’s amazing!

Anyway, do the two of you have a 50/50 hand in choosing the songs for the album?

George: The songs were chosen between ourselves and the producer. Choosing the songs was difficult because there were many, many songs to choose from.

Al: George had some ideas and I had some ideas. We had some moments together, very inspirational moments. I accused George of drinking my coffee and he said, “Wait a minute, Al, don’t start no s—t...!” And that became a song: Don’t Start No Stuff.

You blend very well as a duo. Do you always agree on the choice of songs for your albums and your shows?

George: Well, slightly different. I like more jazzy things. I don’t mind doing the R&B thing along with jazz, you know. So, we differ in that sense.

Al: Not always, not all the time. We practise a give-and-take kind of policy. I think it’s good and healthy for us both. Come to think of it, most of the time we do agree.

How did your team-up come about? Whose idea was it? Yours or Al’s or the both of you?

George: It was actually the record company’s decision because it signed up both of us. Both of us have records for the company, individually, and then they came up with the idea of having us together. Great idea! Obviously, the people love it because Al and I have sold a lot of records.

Did you have to sacrifice anything for the tandem, like your achievements as solo artists?

George: Oh, anytime we go to the studio we have to make sacrifices because people hear things differently. Everyone has his own way of listening to and interpreting songs. But Al and I are so flexible; we know each other’s music. We blend very easily.

Al: There was nothing to give up. His career and my career are similar, so the cooperation began long before we sat across the table and shook hands and said, “Let’s get together.” We love the same kind of music —R&B, pop, jazz.

George, you started as a professional singer at the age of eight, very early. How has it been being in showbiz all these years? 

George: I was already a professional singer very early on, working in a nightclub, singing and dancing. I was known as Little Georgie Benson. I’ve been doing it all my life. It’s so calming for me to be on the stage. I’ve been doing that all of my life more than anything else, except sleeping. Sleeping is the only thing I’ve done more than performing onstage.

Al: I started earlier than George did. I was four years old. I did a recital in the garden of a lady who was a member of the church, to raise money for the church. George quickly outran me. He was doing a very sophisticated kind of music at an early age and I just realized at that time that I was listening to records that George was playing on and learning from them. Together, we have a lot of years of music but George had a lot of serious music in his life before I did. While I was in school taking up Psychology, George had been playing for 15 years professionally. In that sense, he was more senior than I am.

Didn’t it interfere with your schooling? Don’t you think that you missed part of your childhood?

George: Yes, it did and my mother stopped it early. By the time I was 10, I was making records already and she saw the effects it was having on me and my schooling. I was gonna lose my childhood so she told my manager, “No more!” I resumed playing music when I was 15.

Who influenced you into singing? Was any member of your family into music?

George: My mother was a singer but she never did it professionally. My father was also a singer; he played several instruments...the piano, the guitar. But he had to go to war, he fought during World War II. My mother raised me so she never got the chance to become a professional singer. But through me both of their dreams came through. A stepbrother also helped raise me. He taught me how to play the ukelele and then, when I turned nine years old, the guitar.

Al: Many. My older brothers were good singers. They had a semi-professional singing group rehearsing in our house in a moving way. I was five years old and my brothers were 12 years older than I was and they were doing serious music in our living room. Church music is also a big influence in my life. I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and the big bands. I’m also a big fan of John Hendrix and Johnny Mathis, too, who is the contemporary version of Nat King Cole. I haven’t even mentioned The Beatles and Joni Mitchell.

 What can we expect from your concert in Manila on Sept. 8?

George: First of all, I’m glad to be going back to the Philippines. I’ve got lots of fans there. I understand that many Filipinos love jazz. The last time I performed there was at the Folk Arts Theater. I have performed with a Filipino artist, Bobby Enriquez; we are very, very good friends. Nobody could outplay Bobby. I’m looking forward to performing there again.

Al: We’ll start the evening together with a great band which will do an overture. Then, on cue we come onstage together. Then, we say goodbye to George for a while and I do my set. Then, after 35 minutes, I call George to join me and we say goodbye to Al Jarreau. Then, after 30 minutes, we join onstage and perform together. We’ll have great fun.

Aside from your own, what other types of music do you listen to?

George: I listen to everything — Pavarotti, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston and, yes, Celine Dion.

Al: Not too many. Usher and Sheryl Crow among them. I don’t listen enough to be familiar with names. But there are great talents among the young ones. Yes, a lot!

Do you still sing in the bathroom like everybody else?

George: Hahahaha! Yeah, I still do. I sing everywhere.

Al: Oh yes, I do. Part of therapy more than music appreciation. The steam in the bathroom is good for the throat.

(Note: The Philippine STAR is among the sponsors of George Benson and Al Jarreau’s concert at the Araneta Coliseum. Tickets are priced at P5,500, P5,000, P4,500, P2,500, P950 and P600. Call Ticketnet at 911-5555.)