1. Shadow Dancers
2. The Sweet Alice Blues
3. I Don't Know
4. Just Another Sunday
5. Will You Still Be Mine?
6. Easy Living
7. Rock-a-Bye
8. Hot Barbecue
9. The Party's Over
10. Briar Patch
11. Hippy Dip
12. 601 1/2 No. Poplar
13. Cry Me A River
14. The Three Day Thang
George Benson - Guitar
Jack McDuff - Organ, piano (tracks 3-14)
Red Holloway - Tenor sax
Ronnie Boykins - Bass (tracks 1-7)
Montego Joe - Drums, percussion (tracks 1-7)
Joe Dukes - Drums (tracks 8-14)
Two
remastered albums on one CD at mid-price make
for good value - especially if you like music
that is not only intelligent but also rhythmic
enough to keep your feet tapping. The first
seven tracks originally appeared on a 1964
LP entitled The New Boss Guitar of George
Benson (although that album contained
eight tracks: it's a mystery why this reissue
omits My Three Sons). Tracks 8 to 14
comprised a 1965 album entitled Hot Barbeque
- Brother Jack McDuff. The former album
was George Benson's first outing as a leader
and it shows that he was already an accomplished
guitarist. His guitar sound was clear and
full-bodied: eloquent in solos and comping
busily behind other soloists, judiciously
mixing chords and single lines. Benson's three-year
stint with Jack McDuff's quartet established
him in jazz circles and the two men's togetherness
can be heard throughout this CD.
I
seem to have heard a lot of Jack McDuff reissues
recently, but then he was a popular and prolific
recording artist in the 1960s. His Hammond
organ is sometimes marred by fuzziness but
his bluesy feeling imbues every track with
down-home swing. That blues sensibility also
pervades the playing of tenorist Red Hoilloway,
who adds some punchy solos to many tunes.
Some tracks are catchy tunes clearly aimed
at the popular dance market (e.g. Rock-a-Bye
and Hot Barbeque) but other
items are unalloyed jazz - like the swinging
Will You Still be Mine? And there are
ballads which let the musicians stretch out,
such as Easy Living which includes
a rare chance to hear Jack McDuff at the piano.
None
of the music is particularly profound but
it's all good no-nonsense stuff and it displays
George Benson's wide-ranging talents, although
there are none of his vocals, which tended
to take centre-stage in later years.
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
Prestige
0888072240728
