Breezin'

Last updated

Breezin'
Breezin GB.jpg
Studio album by
George Benson
ReleasedMarch 19, 1976 [1]
RecordedJanuary 6–8, 1976
Studio Capitol (Hollywood)
Genre Smooth jazz
Length38:42
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Tommy LiPuma
George Benson chronology
Benson & Farrell
(1976)		Breezin'
(1976)		 In Flight
(1977)
Singles from Breezin'
  1. "This Masquerade"
    Released: 1977
  2. "Breezin'"
    Released: 1977

Breezin' is the fifteenth studio album by jazz/soul guitarist and vocalist George Benson. It is his debut on Warner Bros. Records. It not only was a Billboard Jazz Albums chart-topper but also went to number 1 on the Pop and R&B charts. It was certified triple platinum, making it one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time.

Contents

Commercial performance

Breezin' marked the beginning of Benson's most successful period commercially, topping the Billboard Pop, Jazz and R&B album charts. [2] It spun off two hit singles, the title song (which has become a fusion jazz standard) and "This Masquerade", which was a top ten pop and R&B hit. [3] The album has since been certified as 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. [4]

The album garnered multiple nominations and awards at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards. The album won the awards Best Pop Instrumental Performance for Benson and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Al Schmitt and was nominated as Album of the Year for Tommy LiPuma and Benson. "This Masquerade" received the award Record of the Year for LiPuma and Benson, while it was nominated as Song of the Year for Leon Russell and as Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for Benson. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Christgau's Record Guide C [7]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

In a contemporaneous review for The Village Voice , music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "C" and dismissed most of its music as "mush". [9] In a retrospective review, Allmusic's Richard S. Ginell gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and said that, although Benson's guitar is "as assured and fluid as ever", Breezin' is "really not so much a breakthrough as it is a transition album; the guitar is still the core of his identity". [6]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Breezin'" Bobby Womack 5:40
2."This Masquerade" Leon Russell 8:03
3."Six to Four" Phil Upchurch 5:06
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Affirmation" José Feliciano 7:01
2."So This Is Love?" George Benson 7:03
3."Lady" Ronnie Foster 5:49

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [21] 2× Platinum140,000^
Japan—43,090 [22]
United Kingdom (BPI) [23] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [24] 3× Platinum3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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"Breezin'" is an instrumental song composed by American singer and musician Bobby Womack. It was first recorded in December 1970 by the influential Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó, in partnership with Womack himself. This version, produced by Tommy LiPuma, was included on Szabó's album High Contrast (1971) and was released as a single in April 1971 in the United States and in 1972 in the Netherlands, reaching No. 43 on the R&B chart. Womack wrote some lyrics for the song that weren't used in Szabo's instrumental version but he does perform the song with lyrics on his DVD Raw, released in 2010.

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References

  1. ↑ "Album Picks" (PDF). WorldRadioHistory.com. Record World. 3 April 1976. p. 16. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Breezin' Billboard Albums at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Breezin' Billboard Singles at AllMusic
  4. ↑ "American album certifications – George Benson – Breezin". Recording Industry Association of America.
  5. ↑ "Past Winners Search | GRAMMY.com – 1976". grammy.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 Ginell, Richard S.. Breezin' - George Benson at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 113. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert (14 June 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4295a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Charts.nz – George Benson – Breezin'". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  12. ↑ "George Benson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ "George Benson Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  14. ↑ "George Benson Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5175". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard . Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End". Billboard . Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1977 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard . Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1978 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  22. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  23. ↑ "British album certifications – George Benson – Breezin'". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "American album certifications – George Benson – Breezin'". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 9 November 2021.
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