In the 1970s George Benson became a crossover star with vocal hits and a smooth-sounding pop-R and B style, but he’d already established a legacy as a jazz guitarist who brimmed with energy and talent. “Before Broadway: George Benson in the 1960s” features Benson as a leader and with organists McDuff and Jimmy Smith in straightahead, hard-cooking soul-jazz settings from the 1960s, as well as his interpretation of Miles Davis’ “So What” from his standout 1971 CTI jazz album “Beyond the Blue Horizon," and describes the story behind the early years of Benson's jazz career.
