George Benson - White Rabbit (1978 Japanese CTI Vinyl LP)

George Benson - White Rabbit | Vinyl LP - 1978 Japanese CTI Reissue (LAX 3191, CTI Original 1500 series, King Record Co.)

By 1972 George Benson was already regarded as one of the finest jazz guitarists of his generation, a player with a fat, singing tone and effortless fluency, and White Rabbit is one of the records that made his name. It is a full CTI production in the grand manner, Benson's guitar set against Don Sebesky's rich orchestral arrangements and a cast that reads like a who's who of the era: Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, Hubert Laws on flute and Airto on percussion. The material is pure early-seventies crossover. The title track takes Jefferson Airplane's psychedelic hit and rebuilds it as a brooding, Spanish-flavoured jazz-funk epic, "Little Train" borrows from Villa-Lobos, "California Dreaming" gives the Mamas and Papas the CTI treatment, and Benson's own "El Mar" stretches out past eleven minutes. Through all of it his guitar is the constant, warm and inventive, never showing off but never coasting. It is jazz made for a wide audience, and it swings and grooves in equal measure.

Benson's CTI years, this album among them, were the last stretch before he crossed fully into pop. Four years later Breezin' would make him a superstar and a Grammy magnet, and some of his jazz following never quite forgave him, but the CTI records catch him with a foot in both worlds, still a serious improviser and already a crowd-pleaser. This one sits alongside the other great Creed Taylor productions of the period, all recorded by Van Gelder and dressed in Pete Turner's cover photography.

This copy is the 1978 Japanese reissue on CTI, part of the Original 1500 series, manufactured by King Record Co., catalogue number LAX 3191.