George Benson's "Breezin'" is the album that turned a virtuoso jazz guitarist into a household name without dumbing down his chops. With Tommy LiPuma's production and Al Schmitt's immaculate engineering, it's a masterclass in smooth, swinging sophistication that still sounds effortless.
The first thing you hear is a sound that feels like it’s been in the air all along, just waiting for someone to catch it. That’s the opening of “Breezin’,” a guitar melody so natural you’d swear it predates the 1976 release date by a few decades. It didn’t—it was written by Bobby Womack, cut as a vocal tune in 1972, and handed to George Benson as an instrumental after Womack himself told LiPuma he couldn’t get it right. Benson turned it into a signature.
The album wasn’t supposed to be a blockbuster. Warner Bros. had signed Benson as a jazz artist, and his earlier records—White Rabbit, Body Talk—reached a modest audience. Producer Tommy LiPuma saw something else. He pulled Benson away from the organ-and-tenor formats and put him in front of a deft rhythm section. Ron Carter on upright bass, Harvey Mason on drums, Jorge Dalto on electric piano, and Phil Upchurch on second guitar. The result was a band that could breathe.
Al Schmitt engineered the sessions at Capitol Studios, and his work here is textbook 1970s warmth. Listen to “This Masquerade”—the way Benson’s vocal sits slightly behind the guitar, the way the strings swell without smothering. Schmitt once said the goal was “to make the room disappear.” Mission accomplished. That track won a Grammy for Record of the Year, which still feels improbable for a seven-minute ballad with a guitar solo in the middle.
LiPuma pushed Benson to sing more. The vocal tracks on Breezin’ are unassuming, almost casual, but they sold the album. “So This Is Love?” and “Lady” have the kind of easy charm that made radio programmers weak in the knees. The instrumental cuts—“Six to Four” and “Affirmation”—show off the octave runs and rapid-fire single-note lines that had made Benson a cult figure among guitar nerds. He never overplays here. That’s the trick.
The album spent over two years on the Billboard charts. It sold four million copies. It defined a sound that would eventually be called “smooth jazz,” a term Benson himself dislikes. But the playing is too clean, the production too musical, to let the genre tag cheapen it. This isn’t background music—it’s foreground music pretending to be polite.
What holds Breezin’ together is the sense that nobody is trying too hard. LiPuma let the sessions run loose, often cutting basic tracks in one take. Ralph MacDonald’s percussion fizzes beneath the surface. Dalto’s electric piano fills the cracks. Benson’s guitar floats above it all, never rushing, never showing off. It’s the sound of a band that knew exactly how good they had it.
Forty years later, that confidence still jumps out of the grooves.
Was 'Breezin'' an instrumental on the album?
Yes, George Benson recorded it as an instrumental—no vocal, just his guitar carrying the melody. It became the album's signature track and a staple of easy listening radio.
What guitar did George Benson play on 'Breezin''?
He used his signature Ibanez GB10, a small-bodied archtop designed with his input. The bright, clean tone was emphasized by running through a Fender Twin Reverb amp.
Why did Tommy LiPuma want Benson to sing more on this album?
LiPuma believed Benson's casual, understated vocal style could cross over to pop audiences without alienating jazz fans. He was right—'This Masquerade' became a massive hit and opened the door for a string of vocal records.