Benson pays tribute to Nat King Cole

MANILA, Philippines - When George Benson mounts the stage of the Smart Araneta Coliseum for his highly-anticipated concert tomorrow, Sept. 5, he will treat the audience to a showcase of musical delights — from jazz to swing to bop to R&B to pop — that shaped his successful career as a celebrated jazz guitarist and singer.

More importantly, the American musician and artist will rekindle the inspiring and endearing sound of a jazz legend as he pays homage to Nat King Cole by performing his greatest hits that have enshrined him in the history of music.

Benson, acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest jazz guitarists and singers, will extol the celebrated music of Cole in the musical event titled George Benson Inspiration Tour, which is part of his ongoing world tour to promote his latest album, Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole.

Featured as special guest is Grammy Award-winning R&B and jazz singer Patti Austin.

Patti will also perform in another set of concerts on Sept. 7 at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom (dinner show) in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City for the benefit of Boys Town and on Sept. 9 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

Appearing as special guest in the two shows is Joe Pizzulo, former lead vocalist of the Sergio Mendes band.

To be mounted by Ovation Productions, George Benson Inspiration Tour celebrates the triumphs of a jazz celebrity who rose to fame as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history and at the same time, an amazingly versatile musician with a beautiful rounded tone who can perform in a smooth, light sound in just any style and genre — from swing to bop to R&B to pop.

A one-time child prodigy from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who began performing at the age of four, he first came to prominence in the ’60s, playing soul jazz with the band of organist Jack McDuff and other groups.

Alternating between jazz, pop, R&B singing and scat singing in the course of his solo career, in 1965 he recorded for Columbia Records two highly-regarded albums of soul-jazz and hard bop, and turned up on several records by other artists, notably Miles Davis’ Miles In The Sky (1968).

The albums he cut for various record labels during the next decade helped make Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, but it was not until he began to emphasize vocals in his recordings that the mass market took serious notice of him.

A slew of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode followed, culminating with his breakthrough Quincy Jones-produced album, Give Me The Night, which made it to the pop and R&B Top 10 with the lead single, Give Me The Night.

Benson continued to be a live attraction in the ’80s and ’90s as he recorded a mix of standard and pop-flavored albums, such as Tenderly (1989), Standing Together (1998), Absolute Benson (2000), All Blues (2001) and Irreplaceable (2004).

Three songs from the 2006 album, Givin’ It Up, recorded with Al Jarreau, earned nominations for Grammy Awards in different categories.

In 2009, Benson released Songs And Stories under Concord Records, followed two years later by his primarily instrumental albums in 33 years titled Guitar Man.

Throughout 2010, he toured extensively in North America, Europe and the Pacific, including an appearance at the Singapore Sun Festival.

He also performed at the Java Jazz Festival on March 4 to 6, 2011.

Among the accolades he has received were an award from the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master (2009), the US highest honor in jazz; and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of his achievements in the field of music (2010).

He has won a total of 10 Grammy Awards in various categories from 1977 to 2007 — from Best R&B Instrumental Performance to Best Pop Instrumental Performance to Record of the Year to Best Jazz Vocal Performance to Best Traditional R&B Performance.

(George Benson Inspiration Tour is presented by Ovation Productions and brought to you by Air21, 2nd Avenue, Jack TV, Diva Universal, Jack City, History Channel and RJ 100.3 FM. It is also supported by The Philippine STAR, Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, 96.3 Easy Rock, Mellow 94.7, Monster Radio RX 93.1, Crossover 105.1 and Radio High 105 9.  Ticket prices for the George Benson concert are P6,020, P4,695, P3,910, P2,855, P1,800 and P740. For info, visit www. ticketnet.com.ph. Ticket prices for the Patti Austin show at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom are P5,500 and P4,500 (includes dinner buffet) and are available at the Crowne Plaza front desk {6337222) or purchase online at www.ticketnet.com.ph. Ticket prices for the SMX Convention-Davao show are P2,500, P2,000 and P1,500. For info, call 0932-6376185 or 0917-7007088.)