Struggling to find inspiration on the guitar? “Keep playing,” George Benson says. “You will”
At 81 years old, George Benson is one of the most illustrious guitarists ever to grace the world of jazz. He's released over 30 albums – his newest, Walking to New Orleans, arriving in 2019 – he's won 10 Grammy awards, and collaborated with artists from Miles Davis to Gorillaz.
But despite his advancing years, his career is still going strong. In January of 2025, Benson will host his own festival, Breezin' with the Stars, with appearances from greats like Esperanza Spalding, Cory Wong, and Patti Austin. Benson and friends will convene for "4 days & nights of guitar, concerts, workshops, and storytelling".
In a new interview with , Benson shares some advice on how to stay inspired after playing for 60 years: "Keep playing."
"That's the way it goes, and man I don't pay no attention," Benson says. "I just do it. The good thing is that my life has always been on an upward scale and moved in an upward position. Sometimes, it's been very, very, very slow, and then sped up, and then medium. But that's pretty much how it goes."
Offering advice to players who feel they should put the guitar down because they are creatively exhausted, Benson goes on: "Everybody I know has given me the same story: 'I can't think of anything else to play.' I always say, 'Keep playing; you will.' But if you doubt it, listen to what others are playing, and you might think, 'Oh, I never would have thought of playing it like that.'
"That's why we need each other. We pass ideas on to each other. Music is a school. It's a worldwide school. It's not just one building you walk into: everybody we meet, even people who are not musicians, impacts what we do and how we think. But when you hang around other musicians, you're going to get a lot to think about."
Most recently, Benson released a series of recordings he made with the Canadian composer Robert Farnon entitled Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon. The sessions took place back in 1989, but now the project has been properly released for the first time.
