George Benson

[Moe Seager]

Hey Folks,
I'm surprised that George Benson is not mentioned much on"Favorite Pittsburgh Musicians"?! Yeah, he's done a lot of pop songs - but he remains a BMF on Jazz guitar. And a good scat singer. He was awesome in concert in Paris with Al Jarreau!! What's the word on Benson in Pittsburgh? From my digs in Paris he remains a monster.
Ciao for now.
Moe Seager
Paris

[Moe Seager]

Tony,
Your comments on Georgie, on jazz players who sell, who merge styles - I and so many others share these same sentiments. Note: When Dizzie, Trane, Parker , Roach and Pgh.'s Art Blakey came out with BeBop in 1947, the big band leaders called Bop "noise". In the mid-70's when Carlos Santana recorded with Alice Coltrane, with Wayne Shorter, purists dismissed the collaborations as "not jazz". Aren't we and the music world grateful to these innovators for reinventing the music rather than shelving it forever in one "pure" expression!! Reality check: the majority of jazz fans don't involve themselves in this argument. Most jazz musicians don't get caught up in the debate. The same parallel arguments circulate among the Dons of the poetry world. We just simply move ahead. And the band played on.
Keep the Beat on the Pulse of Life!