White Rabbit

by George Benson

Overview

For George Benson's second CTI project, producer Creed Taylor and arranger Don Sebesky successfully place the guitarist in a Spanish-flavored setting full of flamenco flourishes, brass fanfares, moody woodwinds and such. The idea works best on "California Dreamin'" (whose chords are based on Andalusian harmonies), where, driven by Jay Berliner's exciting Spanish rhythm guitar, Benson comes through with some terrifically inspired playing. On "El Mar," Berliner is replaced by Benson's protege Earl Klugh (then only 17) in an inauspicious -- though at the time, widely-heralded -- recorded debut. The title track is another winner, marred only by the out-of-tune brasses at the close, and in a good example of the CTI classical/jazz formula at work, Heitor Villa-Lobos' "Little Train of the Caipira" is given an attractive early-'70s facelift. Herbie Hancock gets plenty of nimble solo space on Rhodes electric piano, Airto Moreira contributes percussion and atmospheric wordless vocals, and Ron Carter and Billy Cobham complete the high-energy rhythm section. In this prime sample of the CTI idiom, everyone wins. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2025
Label:	King Japan
UPC:	4988003645823

Album Credits

Performance Credits

George Benson   Primary Artist,Guitar
Ron Carter   Guest Artist,Bass
George Marge   Guest Artist,Oboe,Flute,Clarinet,Flute (Alto),Horn (English)
Billy Cobham   Guest Artist,Drums
Hubert Laws   Guest Artist,Flute (Alto),Soloist,Piccolo,Flute
Phil Bodner   Guest Artist,Oboe,Flute,Flute (Alto),Horn (English)
Herbie Hancock   Guest Artist,Piano (Electric)
Earl Klugh   Guest Artist,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jay Berliner   Guest Artist,Guitar (Acoustic)
Phil Kraus   Percussion
Gloria Agostini   Harp
John Frosk   Soloist,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Jim Buffington   French Horn
Airto Moreira   Vocals,Percussion,Guest Artist
Romeo Penque   Oboe,Clarinet,Flute (Alto),Horn (English),Clarinet (Bass)
Alan Rubin   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Jane Taylor   Bassoon
Wayne Andre   Horn (Baritone),Trombone

Technical Credits

Richard Seidel   Reissue Producer
Rudy Van Gelder   Engineer
Mark Wilder   Mastering
Creed Taylor   Producer
Grace Slick   Composer
George Benson   Composer
Michel Legrand   Composer
Alan Bergman   Composer
Maria Triana   Mastering
Don Sebesky   Arranger
Heitor Villa-Lobos   Composer
Michelle Phillips   Composer
Pete Turner   Cover Photo
Bob Ciano   Design
Marilyn Bergman   Composer
John Phillips   Composer