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NASHVILLE: Few artists have blurred the lines between jazz, soul and pop as effortlessly as George Benson. Now, the GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist and singer is returning to one of the most personal recordings of his career with an expanded reissue of Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, arriving September 11 through Candid Records.
Originally released in 2013, Inspiration was Benson’s heartfelt salute to Nat King Cole, the legendary singer and pianist whose music became one of Benson’s earliest and most enduring influences.
The new edition gives the album its most complete presentation to date, with Benson and Candid Records restoring three additional recordings from the original sessions while remastering and re-sequencing the project.
Along with the announcement, Benson has re-released “Unforgettable,” his interpretation of Cole’s timeless jazz-pop ballad. The recording features legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, whose unmistakable playing adds another layer of sophistication to the familiar standard.
Throughout Inspiration, Benson approaches Cole’s catalog with reverence without simply trying to recreate it. His instantly recognizable vocals and fluid guitar work bring a different character to songs that have lived in the American songbook for generations.
The album also brings together an impressive group of guests. Acclaimed vocalist Idina Menzel, German jazz trumpeter Till Brönner and singer-songwriter Judith Hill lend their talents to the project, adding new shades to classics including “Mona Lisa” and “Route 66.”
For the expanded edition, three recordings from the sessions have been restored: “Almost Like Being In Love,” “That Sunday, That Summer,” and “Ramblin’ Rose.”
The reissue was supervised by Benson alongside Candid Records executive John Burk, who originally produced the album. Burk’s renewed partnership with Benson also signals the beginning of what is expected to be a continuing series of releases from the guitarist through Candid Records.
Speaking on the partnership, Benson says, “This current cycle with Candid Records was made possible through my arrangement with John Burk, who supports my continuing effort to supply my audience with great music and my ongoing desire to promote what I believe are important musical ideas. Quality is my number one purpose for this move.”
That emphasis on quality can be heard throughout Inspiration.
Co-produced by Randy Waldman, the album surrounds Benson’s voice and guitar with the lush orchestral language that helped define Cole’s classic recordings. Vintage Nelson Riddle charts sit alongside new arrangements by Waldman, giving the project a connection to the elegance of the original era while allowing Benson to place his own musical signature on the material.
The sessions feature a formidable rhythm section of Waldman, Tim May, Chuck Berghofer and Gregg Field, joined by the 42-piece Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.
For Benson, Inspiration has always been more than a collection of standards. It is a musical acknowledgment of an artist whose influence helped shape the direction of his own career.
Benson would ultimately become one of the rare musicians capable of achieving enormous commercial success without abandoning his jazz foundation — moving naturally between instrumental improvisation, R&B, pop and vocal performances while maintaining the unmistakable guitar sound that made him one of the most influential players of his generation.
With Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, that musical journey circles back to one of its starting points.
More than a decade after its original release, the expanded edition offers listeners another opportunity to hear Benson honoring Nat King Cole not through imitation, but through the sound and musical personality that Cole helped inspire.
