Livin Inside Your Love

George Benson plays the guitar so well that jazz fans find evidence that he still cares even amidst the most disposable string- and synth-laden offerings. Case in point: while Benson would just as soon lay down his axe altogether to croon Goffin and King's "Hey Girl" on LIVIN' INSIDE YOUR LOVE, on the next cut, keyboardist Ronnie Foster's "Nassau Day," he turns around and plays with the same great tone, articulation, timing and flow of ideas he's always demonstrated.

And why should the guy live on what the average jazzman makes if they'll pay him to surround himself with strings and keep the tunes simple? Twenty years ago, fans of Benson's tough, muscular synthesis of bop, blues and post-bop ideas screamed "sellout" over his success with "On Broadway" and "This Masquerade." Today we know better, because we have another name for it--smooth jazz.