George Benson's solo on "Clockwise" (Alt. Take)

**mattymel** · 02-09-2012, 08:33 AM

burnin...my latest transcription.

and this is the "slow" alt. version. but he plays cooler stuff.

a funny video for it too...

enjoy. solo starts at about 0:38 on video.

**Philco** · 02-09-2012, 06:30 PM

Thanks for your hard work. This is a great piece to study how he was dealing with the Jazz Blues structure during that phase of his development....and so much more.

Very generous of you to share this.

**M-ster** · 02-09-2012, 07:17 PM

Thanks, mattymel!

**mattymel** · 02-10-2012, 12:26 AM

i was kind of blown away how over half the stuff is based off of minor 7th arpeggio shapes. also he uses ALOT of 13 to b13 over dominant sounds. harmonically very interesting.

so weird because when i hear him talk about what he plays i get the impression he doesnt think about much. then you look at what he plays and its very harmonically advanced. to me it seems like his whole approach is superimposition of other harmonies (like just about every other great).

anyway, the main reason i wanted to do this one is his time feel is just...impeccable. the whole group actually. lonnie smith's comping is ridiculous on this tune. thanks

**markf** · 02-10-2012, 10:48 AM

a few days ago, I posted a link to an lengthy interview with George Benson.

It's well worth reading. seems the player he most admired was Charlie Parker.

He describes his life from his childhood, on right up to last year. playing with Miles, Chet Atkins, Earl Klugh, Freddie Hubbard, Quincy Jones, his approach to music (audience first).

**markf** · 02-10-2012, 10:59 AM

lot of work by you, thanks.

**JakeAcci** · 02-10-2012, 01:47 PM

it seems like his whole approach is superimposition of other harmonies (like just about every other great).

Totally. It's the old school way - pre-chord scales pedagogy. He even talks about this in that video of him jamming in his home, just putting together different ways to resolve tension.

Cool to hear Metheny talk about the subject. He has said that he (Metheny) had a bit of both schools of thought because he initially learned from more old school guys that were all about overlay of harmony, then started playing Gary Burton who was all about chord scales.

**Pat Clare** · 02-10-2012, 02:19 PM

Wow nice work Matt. His sense of swing and and the way he feels the beat, I feel can have an effect on how he makes his lines sound. The Man can Swing!!

**mattymel** · 02-10-2012, 03:48 PM

Yes. It's all about the time. He could play the most uninteresting lines with THAT rhythm and it would still be badass. Bill Evans up next.

**ronjazz** · 02-10-2012, 08:34 PM

Benson doesn't think when playing, nobody does. He hears what his imagination creates, and transfers it in real time (real good time) into the guitar through his brain-hand connection, one of the finest ever evolved. He has his licks, clearly, but there are hundreds of them!

Good on you, mm

**mattymel** · 02-11-2012, 01:58 AM

Originally Posted by ronjazz

Benson doesn't think when playing, nobody does. He hears what his imagination creates, and transfers it in real time (real good time) into the guitar through his brain-hand connection, one of the finest ever evolved. He has his licks, clearly, but there are hundreds of them!

Good on you, mm

well my point being he obviously put in SOME thought at some point. nobody plays so much stuff, so fast, so clean without having worked some serious stuff out. now i will say that GB seems a likely candidate for being freakishly talented enough to wing off some crazy stuff, but...its funny, he talks ALOT about learning stuff (and STEALING stuff) from lots of cats. but he NEVER goes in to exactly WHAT. i kind of like the idea of GB as one of those closet theoriticians that wants people to think he is some kind of savant to thrown them off his trail. akin to bird, and pretty much every "bluesman". likely an element of both...but definitely he is not thinking as he is PLAYING. that would be impossible to do.

also, i hear ALOT of people (especially these days) who are absolutely THINKING as they play. not saying i like what i hear in most of those cases, but its out there nonetheless.

**ronjazz** · 02-11-2012, 08:52 AM

Well, I thought you meant while playing. The rule of thumb is to do your thinking in the practice room, and your playing on stage. At most, given the tempos of most jazz, thinking will involve the chord changes. At least that's what most of the established masters have said in various interviews in the past 60 years or so.

**fumblefingers** · 02-11-2012, 09:04 PM

but CJM said that GB wasn't technically proficient.

right CJM?

**ChuckCorbis** · 02-12-2012, 01:15 AM

Originally Posted by mattymel

well my point being he obviously put in SOME thought at some point. nobody plays so much stuff, so fast, so clean without having worked some serious stuff out. now i will say that GB seems a likely candidate for being freakishly talented enough to wing off some crazy stuff, but...its funny, he talks ALOT about learning stuff (and STEALING stuff) from lots of cats. but he NEVER goes in to exactly WHAT.

Martino's concepts for 1.

**M-ster** · 02-12-2012, 12:06 PM

Thanks again, mattymel. I was playing through this all day yesterday!

**mattymel** · 02-15-2012, 04:22 AM

made a few minor changes on this so i reattached the new version to the top...just a few phrasing things and 2 beats of the wrong octave...bill evans "Solar" solo up next...

**ChuckCorbis** · 02-17-2012, 04:59 AM

Originally Posted by mattymel

but...its funny, he talks ALOT about learning stuff (and STEALING stuff) from lots of cats. but he NEVER goes in to exactly WHAT.

Secondly IMO.....Organists. The rolling octaves with 4ths could have come via the likes of Jack McDuff who perfected that and the block chord concept of Milt Buckner. Also, some of the phrasing and perpetual motion of his lines reflect a jazz organist's influence. Benson's unique approach and use of pentatonics comes to mind.