Breezin' by George Benson, 1976
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
As a jazz lover and guitar player, I was very excited to take a listen through Breezin', one of the best-selling jazz albums of all-time.
Throughout the record, Benson shows off his guitar mastery and agility, and I'm especially impressed at the complexity of his songs' chord progressions. His inclusion and usage of strings is also pertinent—I haven't often heard strings featured in 70s smooth jazz, and I think they are a terrific and envelope-pushing addition.
My top three songs here are:
1. Breezin'
The title track from this record is such a fun and light-hearted piece to open with, and I love it. It's hard not to enjoy the infectious, yet relatively simple guitar hooks that Benson plays throughout, and when you add the whimsical flute lines, you have a truly spectacular song.
As I alluded to earlier, the inclusion of strings in the background is so smart; it lays an interesting framework for the song, and it enables the bass and rhythm section to really play funky parts without worrying about ruining the bed of the tune.
Though the main theme is repeated copiously throughout Breezin's 6-minute runtime, each iteration feels coolly familiar and interestingly unique at the same time. Each repetition is different enough that the whole tune feels both incredibly cohesive and vaguely segmented, and the fade at the end speaks perfectly to that; you could imagine it continuing on and on and on, forever. There's a reason this song topped the Billboard charts and is a smooth jazz standard!
2. This Masquerade
As probably expected for those of you who know the album, This Masquerade is my second-favorite song here. It's really a masterpiece, and knocks it out of the park on every level.
Just some of my highlights include Benson's simultaneous scatting and guitar-plucking (which is not easy), his vocals, the rich soundscape created by the strings, and the claves that play damn cool rhythms throughout.
If you've never heard This Masquerade and you're still reading, go listen to it NOW.
3. Affirmation
This fun and funky track gracefully plays with effects and instrumentation throughout, and that's something I appreciate. Benson's solo in the middle is perfectly executed and plays off the rhythm section quite well.
My favorite part, though, is definitely the keyboard solo near the end; it's terrific and clever and fun, and lays over the rhythm section perfectly.
And fun fact: this is actually a cover of a Jose Feliciano song!
In the end...
That all being said, I give Breezin' only a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 because its B-songs detract significantly from the greatness that are its few amazing tracks.
For example, while Six to Four may be fun to listen to, I don't find it very groovy; the whole track feels rushed and stilted, and the chorus isn't quite compelling enough. I enjoy the strings solis throughout, but that's about it—even Benson's solo in the middle is only middling.
The final track, Lady, is another example. It's certainly there, and I guess there are some fun hooks/melodies, but it falls flat for me overall.
There isn't anything of note that differentiates these two example tunes from others on the album, and when that album only has 6 tracks total, having 1 or 2 average ones makes a large impact.
