Call it concert serendipity.
On the weekend before my birthday. At my second favorite venue in California (behind only the historic Hollywood Bowl). With a revered musician performing in his twilight years—someone whom I’ve admired greatly since the late 1970s, but had never been able to catch on stage before.
So, without hesitation, I whipped out the plastic and trekked up to Mountain Winery in Saratoga on Saturday, May 9, for an evening with jazz/pop music great George Benson, still performing at the age of 83.
Benson, winner of 10 Grammy Awards, first burst into the mainstream spotlight during the mid-’70s, after years of performing as a noted jazz guitarist. His album Breezin’ hit the top of the charts in 1976, launching a string of radio-friendly tunes well into the ‘80s, including “This Masquerade,” “On Broadway,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “Give Me the Night.”
But now Benson is well into his 80s and Mountain View was only his second concert of the new year (he currently has no other concerts scheduled). The faithful turned out to mostly fill the 2500-seat outdoor venue, curious to see what this former child prodigy from Pittsburgh might offer—an evening of musical magic, or just a masquerade.
We would have to wait a bit for the answer. Ayiana-Lee, a young British-American singer with a powerful and soulful voice, delivered an enthusiastic and crowd-pleasing opening set, waving good night around 7:50 p.m.
But Benson didn’t take the stage until shortly after 8:30 p.m., walking slowly under the eye of an ever-hovering stagehand before settling into his chair. He needed assistance in getting the guitar strap over his shoulders. I held my breath.
Then the magic began. With a voice seemingly as strong as ever, Benson shot out the gate with a full-blast cover of Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Making Love,” before jumping into “Love Ballad” with equal gusto.
Backed up by a tight six-piece band, Benson stuck with the familiar, serving up songs from his heyday during an 85-minute set, not offering any new material with the exception of a solo guitar version of “Danny Boy” near the end.
That was fine by me—I finally got to hear some of my favorite songs performed live, including “Turn Your Love Around,” “Love X Love,” and “Lady Love Me.” Benson remains a master of scat singing, punctuating his songs throughout with little vocal riffs that he improvised.
Benson, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, has stated repeatedly that his songs strive to offer popular, upbeat messages, and that was certainly the theme of this concert, capped by an energetic version of “Give Me the Night.”
To the casual or merely curious Benson fans in the audience, there might have been some disappointment. The set was relatively short, without an encore. Benson disappeared twice during the evening to let band members take the spotlight (and perhaps to preserve his voice).
On the classic “Breezin’,” he suddenly stopped, glancing around, uncertain—later explaining that his fingers were too cold to play. A few songs later, Benson brought the percussionist, Lilliana de los Reyes, out front for a solo and abruptly sent her back until later.
But when she did finally sing, de los Reyes nailed Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody.” She later joined Benson on a stirring rendition of “Moody’s Mood for Love.”
At one point, Benson gave a shout out to Boz Scaggs, who was in the audience. “I want one of your hits, Boz Scaggs,” Benson demanded jokingly. That would have been a nice moment for a memorable duet, but . . .
This is where I give George Benson a lot of slack. At 83, the guy is lucky to still be alive and performing at any level—I wasn’t expecting his younger self. But this version still delivered something special—jabbing his finger in the air as he sang, mugging with great facial expressions like the late Muhammad Ali, weaving humor into his stories and poking fun at his age.
I knew every single song that Saturday night. Apologies to those folks sitting around me at Mountain View for singing along on a few of them.
I couldn’t help it. Hey, it was my birthday and hearing George Benson perform was definitely a wish come true. The guy gave us his best. He gave us the night.
One final note: The Mountain Winery venue is perched at the end of a curvy, one-lane road that winds up 1,325 feet above sea level. Several hotels in the area offer concert shuttle service for an extra fee. Highly recommended.