All of a sudden,
George Benson became a pop superstar with this album, thanks to its least representative track. Most of
Breezin' is a softer-focused variation of
Benson's R&B/jazz-flavored CTI work, his guitar as assured and fluid as ever with
Claus Ogerman providing the suave orchestral backdrops and his crack then-working band (including
Ronnie Foster on keyboards and sparkplug
Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar) pumping up the funk element. Yet it is the sole vocal track (his first in many years),
Leon Russell's "This Masquerade" -- where
George unveiled his new trademark, scatting along with a single-string guitar solo -- that reached number ten on the pop singles chart and drove the album all the way to number one on the pop (!) LP chart. The attractive title track also became a minor hit single, although
Gabor Szabo's 1971 recording with composer
Bobby Womack is even more fetching. In the greater scheme of
Benson's career,
Breezin' is really not so much a breakthrough as it is a transition album; the guitar is still the core of his identity. [
Breezin' was re-released in 2014.] ~ Richard S. Ginell