CREED'S HACIENDA
Body Talk
George Benson
George Benson's Body Talk was the
followup to his highly successful CTI recording White Rabbit.
Body Talk features charts by James Brown musician and
arranger Pee Wee Ellis, and as you might expect, it marked Benson's
move into a more R&B-influenced territory. Not that Benson
was altogether new to soulful R&B sounds-he cut his teeth
with Brother Jack McDuff playing funky blues and honing his
considerable chops. There is less arrangement here than on White
Rabbit, and many straight-ahead jazz fans will probably
enjoy this disc better.
Benson swings with ferocity on tracks like "When
Love Has Grown" and "Plum", showing his debt
to jazz guitar greats Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery.
Earl Klugh appears, giving a gentle counterpoint to Benson's
electric work. The resulting sound is unique in the annals of
jazz guitar. Klugh left shortly after Body Talk was released
and was replaced by Phil Upchurch, who continued to work with
Benson on CTI and later on the breakthrough Breezin' album.
Benson is also backed by CTI's house rhythm section
of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette with Harold Mabern manning
the electric piano and percussionist Mobutu providing some tasty
side dishes. The horn section includes trumpeter Jon Faddis
and tenor man Frank Foster.
"I expect to be around another 20 years because
one thing I'm doing is inventing something it will take another
artist 20 years to copy. You see, there is nobody who can play
George Benson better than George Benson," the guitarist
told Downbeat in an interview shortly before recording Body
Talk. This album, along with CTI releases White Rabbit
and Beyond the Blue Horizon are among Benson's best,
and if you didn't pick up on him until the release of Breezin'
or later (or if you never listened to him because of his
later work) you owe it to yourself to check out Body Talk.
