Gibraltar by Stanley Turrentine - Easter Egg?

[Ryguy]

The album Sugar has been on heavy rotation for me for 30 years now, and I’ve only recently realized something that’s always been nagging at me.

Listen to that guitar solo and tell that me isn’t 1) Kenny Burrell, or 2) Benson doing a perfect KB imitation. No mention of KB in the credits, or anywhere I can find online, but my $$ is on him being the one on that track.

[wintermoon]

definitely KB

[sgcim]

He's doing KB fills with the double stops in fourths licks, and then on his solo he plays two KB licks at about 7:32, he does a KB slide up to the high G from an F, and then follows it with a descending triplets lick that KB does. His sound is definitely a Gibson Hollow body sound, but KB was using his D'A in 1971, so it's probably Benson laying back for a change by imitating how KB would play. KB lays back, but at the same time plays with more authority than Benson does here.

[djg]

definitely KB

no way

[djg]

guys. this is george benson. 100%. KB does not have the quartal licks, plays with a more inconsistent time, and has a rather different sound and attack.

[Doug B]

It names Benson at the top of your graphic and on youtube as the guitar player. Both ST and GB (White Rabbit,etc)were on CTI records at that time. So does Wikipedia:

Sugar (Stanley Turrentine album) - Wikipedia

Hope that helps.

Doug

[Mark M.]

Benson 100%.

[Ryguy]

It names Benson at the top of your graphic and on youtube as the guitar player. Both ST and GB (White Rabbit,etc)were on CTI records at that time. So does Wikipedia:

Sugar (Stanley Turrentine album) - Wikipedia

Hope that helps.

Doug

For sure. It only credits GB, and I've never seen any mention anywhere of KB being involved in this record in any capacity. Having said that, I also not it would not be out of the question for KB to have been hanging around when this was being recorded...weirder stuff has happened in the studio. I can't remember which album it is right now, but there is another Stanley Turrentine CTI session where both Idris Muhammed and Jack DeJohnette play different versions of the same track. And then Gilbralter was also released on Salt Songs with Eric Gale playing...not that all of this means anything.

Again, maybe GB just decided to go for a Kenny Burrell vibe and nailed it.

[Ryguy]

guys. this is george benson. 100%. KB does not have the quartal licks, plays with a more inconsistent time, and has a rather different sound and attack.

Yeah, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Not that it is not George Benson, as it likely is, but this solo has KB's idiosyncratic sound all over it, particularly the funky timing and picking attack. It literally has the quintessential KB licks around 7:30! Listen to Sugar and Gibraltar back-to-back...I don't even think the tones sound that close, let alone the phrasing and picking attack. But again, I'm sure George Benson could nail a KB "impression" if he so desired.

Just sort of fun to think about either way.

[djg]

Yeah, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Not that it is not George Benson, as it likely is, but this solo has KB's idiosyncratic sound all over it, particularly the funky timing and picking attack. It literally has the quintessential KB licks around 7:30! Listen to Sugar and Gibraltar back-to-back...I don't even think the tones sound that close, let alone the phrasing and picking attack. But again, I'm sure George Benson could nail a KB "impression" if he so desired.

Just sort of fun to think about either way.

to me he jsut sounds like GB but i can hear what you say. i guess the common link is grant green. GB started out as a GG clone and grant ate those early KB records from 1956 up.