THE TRUTH ABOUT: 2 - The Untold Story

Delicate ballads, bold brass and the thrill of Thriller: 10 of Quincy Jones’s greatest productions

From his sumptuous vocal jazz with Sarah Vaughan and Helen Merrill to funk with Donna Summer and George Benson, the late producer had astonishing versatility

The Guardian - UK · Nov 4, 2024

“It's tough for me to talk about giving them up... They came in my life at different times, but they all had meaning”: George Benson is selling his studio-and-tour-used rare and vintage guitars

The jazz icon's Reverb collection includes his Gibson Johnny Smith, which he played on the 1976 triple-platinum album Breezin'

Guitar World · Oct 10, 2024

“The blues deserve a chance… My love really sits with that genre of music”: Jackson 5 guitarist and singer Tito Jackson has died aged 70

Tito's guitar work was key to the group's success, while his last solo album saw him collaborate with George Benson, Joe Bonamassa and Stevie Wonder

Guitar World · Sep 16, 2024

“Improvise a musical story that makes sense, and takes the listener on a captivating musical journey”: “Call and response” phrasing can help transform a simple guitar solo into an evocative narrative device

In blues maestro Josh Smith's latest GW column, the guitarist draws inspiration from George Benson for a lesson in call and response phrasing

Guitar World · May 2, 2024

“It was midnight. Quincy Jones said, ‘Ritenour, this is Q. You gotta get down here right now. We gotta fix George's solo’”: Lee Ritenour sets the record straight on fixing George Benson’s Give Me the Night solo

Quincy Jones made Ritenour swear never to tell George Benson about the incident

Guitar World · Apr 26, 2024

“Quincy said, ‘Ritenour, this is Q. You gotta get down here right now!’”: Lee Ritenour reveals all about his top secret mission to save George Benson’s Give Me The Night solo

After an unfortunate recording accident in the analogue tape days, Quincy Jones needed an 11th hour rescue job and duly made a late night call to the only player who could help

MusicRadar · Apr 25, 2024

“Django stretched the guitar imagination to its limit. He was the fastest, the most creative”: What Django Reinhardt can teach today’s blues players

Idolized by B.B. King and George Benson, Django Reinhardt was gypsy jazz guitar’s most legendary player. Improve your jazz vocabulary with this primer in his pyrotechnic style

Guitar World · Mar 14, 2024

“I love Gibson – I always have. Even though people like Slash play Les Pauls, for me they work better in a jazzier sound-world”: Jimmy Page was bowled over by her playing. Now Rosie Frater-Taylor is injecting jazz solos into pop for an all-new sound

Inspired by jazz-go-pop stars like George Benson and Pat Metheny, the Pickup Music tutor and rising star has a unique guitar-meets-vocal vamping style

Guitar World · Feb 12, 2024

“All I took to studios was a 335 and a Princeton Reverb”: Ray Parker Jr. on the ultra-rare Yamaha prototype he used on the Ghostbusters theme, and the helpful trick he learned from Grant Green, George Benson, and Melvin Sparks

In a career-spanning conversation with Vertex Effects, the maestro – whose discography includes work with Bill Withers, Chaka Kahn, and Stevie Wonder – confesses his love for mono, and reveals why he always keeps things simple in the studio

Guitar World · Feb 9, 2024

NAMM 2024: “A rich and articulate old-school tone that embodies the sound of mid-century New York”: D’Angelico’s iconic flagship archtop guitars are back – and “better than ever”

The New York luthier has redesigned its EXL-1 and Style B archtops to honor the brand’s heritage while improving hand fit and introducing extra features, too

Guitar World · Jan 15, 2024