'' Absolute Benson '' is an enhanced studio album by American jazz musician

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

. It was released by GRP and

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

on May 23, 2000, in the United States. Taking a tip from 1999's pop-man-of-the-year

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, Benson goes Latin on this release.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor William Ruhlmann that ''Absolute Benson'' "is another in a series of consistently excellent CDs that characterize it ..If it is difficult to crossover from jazz to pop, crossing back can be just as treacherous. Benson's oldest fans, who later became his detractors, still may not be satisfied with his current approach, but it has deservedly won him a secure place in contemporary jazz."

Track listing

Personnel and credits

Musicians *

– guitar (1–9), vocals (1, 2, 8) *

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

–

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(1, 2),

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

(1, 2), synthesizers (1, 2), acoustic piano (3–9), synthesizer arrangements * Ricky Peterson – Hammond B3 organ (8), synthesizers (8), synthesizer arrangements * Carlos Henríquez – bass (1, 2) *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jaz ...

– bass (3–9) * Vidal Davis – drums (1, 2) *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

– drums (3, 4, 5, 7, 8) *

Cindy Blackman Cindy Blackman (born November 18, 1959), known as Cindy Blackman Santana since she married guitarist Carlos Santana in 2010, is an American jazz and Rock music, rock drummer performing since the 80s. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as ...

– drums (6, 9) * Luisito Quintero – percussion (1, 2) *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– congas, percussion and

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

– string arrangements (7) * Claudia Acuña – backing vocals (1, 2) *

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

– backing vocals (1) *

Lisa Fischer Lisa Melonie Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album '' So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single " How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back ...

– backing vocals (1, 2) *

La India Linda Bell Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), known professionally as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the L ...

– backing vocals (1, 2) * Richard Shade – backing vocals (1) Production * Producers – Tommy LiPuma (Tracks 1, 3–9); "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (Track 2). * Recording Engineers – Steven Barkan and Jon Fausty (Tracks 1 & 2);

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto (band), Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jone ...

(Tracks 3–9). * Assistant Engineers – Koji Egawa; Kayo Teramoto (Tracks 1 & 2); Mark Fraunfelder, Alan Moon and Aya Takemura (Tracks 3–9). * Overdubs on Tracks 3–9 recorded by

Bill Schnee William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated ...

and Tommy Tucker, assisted by

Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born March 18, 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations (winning eight), four Emmy nominations (winning two Emmy Awards for his work with the Eagles on their farewell t ...

and Al Schmitt. * Strings on Track 7 recorded by James Farber * Mixing – Steven Barkan (Tracks 1 & 2); Bill Schnee (Tracks 3–9). * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Charles' multiple ...

at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA). * Art Direction – Hollis King * Photography – Jeffrey Scales and Kwaku Alston * Graphic Design – Isabelle Wong

Charts

References

{{Authority control George Benson albums 2000 albums Albums produced by Tommy LiPuma GRP Records albums Verve Records albums