It was a rare feat for a largely instrumental record to make the pop and R&B charts then, but critics still took umbrage with his early ascension into smooth jazz. ![]() ![]() “They’re right down your throat,” he said of playing the intimate club Ronnie Scott’s, where the set was recorded, “but I can look into their faces and see the happiness or the response by what they’re hearing on the bandstand.” Benson’s first live album in 30 years, due Friday, he not only honors his unique musical path, but also credits those along the way that have shaped him and his career - which includes audiences. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. When Wes Montgomery came to Pittsburgh, I had to meet him, because I had heard about him when I was a little boy. They told me there was a guy who played guitar like nobody else, that he played with his fingers, but he actually played with his thumb - there was no pick in his hand. ![]() So when I met him, I asked him if he would teach me something and he said, “No.” He was the first guy who said no. ![]() I was a teenager then, maybe 17 years old. I said, “Why not?” He said, “I’m still trying to learn how to play myself.”Īnd that really got to me.
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