Joey DeFrancesco and George Benson Videos

[Blues Fuse]

I noticed these on YouTube, today. I think this is a NAMM week club gig in the L.A. area.

Joey DeFrancesco-George Benson 4tet (1/4) - YouTube

Joey DeFrancesco-George Benson 4tet (2/4) - YouTube

Joey DeFrancesco-George Benson 4tet (3/4) - YouTube

Joey DeFrancesco-George Benson 4tet (4/4) - YouTube

[hallpass]

I was just logging in now to share these! Very cool! Great to see...seems like they were having fun, nothing too serious. Is George playing an Eastman archtop?

I will embed them below...

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

[fumblefingers]

Originally Posted by martinopass

I was just logging in now to share these! Very cool! Great to see...seems like they were having fun, nothing too serious. Is George playing an Eastman archtop?

I will embed them below...

nope. its Ibanez. less adorned looking (less Gibson looking and more like the D'Aquisto or Benedetto et al styles)

[M-ster]

Is it me, or does George look and sound drunk in these? I think these are the worst examples of Benson's playing that I've ever heard. (Just disappointed, that's all.)

OTOH, Joey D. kills me every time, and I was digging him in parts of these.

[tonedeaf]

I saw Joey D. in Vail this past summer. He is now no more than half the size he was in these videos! I cannot believe they are the same person.

He played with some local guys out of Denver and they completely rocked the house!

[Richb]

GB is jazz royalty to me, but he hasn't sounded like the halcyon GB of the 70's and 80's since, well since then. I believe George has let the obsessive practicing he used to do all thru his career lapse since the 90's...and it shows.
And yet, as hard as he is struggling on those vids to get to the effortless smoothness and fleetness he always had, and isn't making it, it doesn't bother me much. He's royalty.
My only complaint, and you could level it at just about every great musician, is that he leans on verbatim licks that he plays, and replays and replays and replays over and over again. Often in the same song....So much so, that in some of the tunes there often is literally not a single line I haven't heard him play before, verbatim....But he is ROYALTY

[Richb]

I also wanted to mention how AMAZINGLY good Byron Landham sounds on these vids!!!

[fumblefingers]

Originally Posted by M-ster

Is it me, or does George look and sound drunk in these? I think these are the worst examples of Benson's playing that I've ever heard. (Just disappointed, that's all.)

OTOH, Joey D. kills me every time, and I was digging him in parts of these.

no i don't really see that. he is older now of course (aren't we all?). this was live and loose, and the sound quality ain't too hot.

but he sounds pretty sharp to me overall. sounds like the same old Benson, although not quite as sharp as 1976. where do you think he really falters in these 4 vids?

[Richb]

Originally Posted by fumblefingers

no i don't really see that. he is older now of course (aren't we all?). this was live and loose, and the sound quality ain't too hot.

but he sounds pretty sharp to me overall. sounds like the same old Benson, although not quite as sharp as 1976. where do you think he really falters in these 4 vids?

Not to be too blunt, but GB is struggling pretty much the entire gig.And struggling badly. It's as obvious and clear as day... He finally starts to loosen up in the last 2 songs, but overall it's nowhere even vaguely close to the legendary effortlessness of the mid 70's - 80's.

[Double 07]

Sorry guys I couldn't get through listeneing to even one whole tune out these four. Even as musch as I usually like George Benson's playing in general but the sound quality on these was too poor for me to enjoy. George's tone was terrible in these, not his usual great tone.

[fumblefingers]

OK, i've listened again. 4 Videos in order:

1. sounds very rough. the fast bebop lines gave him trouble. the semi-hollow may not be his main guitar.

2. on archtop. playing sounds just fine.

3. on archtop. tune 1 - ending has one little rough spot. tune 2 - very nice.

4. that opening part is very strong. if that is George "struggling" than i would like to see anyone on this site get up and play it. go ahead, just try it.


A few parting shots:

1. isn't this just a NAMM blowing session? i thought i saw that somewhere... If so, take it for what its worth. I dont care who you are, if you don't know a tune well you won't play it well, and maybe you won't be able to play it at all. That goes for the finest musicians on the planet - I've heard them admit as much in master classes, etc. So, how well did George know these tunes? Does anyone know that?

2. I've seen George live in recent years. Then, like now, he does seem to struggle a bit when he tries to be "George Benson superstar". Meaning, the more incredible he tries to be the rougher he is. But when he's playing at less than jazz guitar god speed, or playing super cool & funky Bensonesque chops, he sounds just fine. In fact, I'd say that when he's not trying to play the high wire act he still plays as well if not better than most jazz guitarists.

3. Can he be the superstar player he was in the 70s again? He' about 70 himself now. That's a tough challenge for any player, even a virtuoso. I think that its very, very difficult after the age of 65 or so to play at the virtuoso level, especially when improvising. But I don't think its impossible. A lot of older jazzers play well into their senior years, they just don't try to knock your socks off anymore.

[hallpass]

Originally Posted by fumblefingers

1. isn't this just a NAMM blowing session? i thought i saw that somewhere... If so, take it for what its worth. I dont care who you are, if you don't know a tune well you won't play it well, and maybe you won't be able to play it at all. That goes for the finest musicians on the planet - I've heard them admit as much in master classes, etc. So, how well did George know these tunes? Does anyone know that?

I think they're just having fun here myself. I believe it is just a blowing session indeed.

[mattymel]

I imagine trying to play inspired jazz at a NAMM jam session would be about as easy as painting a masterpiece at a superbowl football game.