This Is Jazz, Vol. 9 (1965)

About this title: Taken from Columbia's multi-volume jazz primer, this is not bad for a single-company compilation. The selections split down the middle between George Benson's early 1965-1966 Columbia albums and his 1971-1976 CTI output that Columbia now controls; the gaps are obvious but the title of the series neatly narrows the scope of the survey. We hear the young, eager Benson in four cuts from It's Uptown and only two from the superior George Benson Cookbookincluding the spectacular "The Cooker" -- before sampling a cut apiece from CTI's Beyond the Blue Horizon, Bad Benson, Good King Bad, and In ... read more

Tracks:

1. Clockwise [Benson]
2. Myna Bird Blues [Benson]
3. Willow Weep for Me [Ronell]
4. Stormy Weather [Arlen/Koehler]
5. The Cooker [Benson]
6. The Borgia Stick [Benson]
7. Ode to a Kudu [Benson]
8. Take Five [Desmond]
9. I Remember Wes [Benson/Sebesky]
10. Good King Bad [Matthews]
11. Summertime [Live] [Gershwin/Heyward/Ge]
12. From Now On [Benson]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.