George Benson: Giblet Gravy (Verve Vault series) [VERVE]

Why you'll love it

Back on vinyl in Verve's Vault series. Benson cut it in 1968 with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Cobham, years before Breezin' made him a household name, and his guitar sings all over 'Along Comes Mary' and Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny.'

This edition

• Verve Vault series reissue
• Original sleeve with Daniel Kramer's cover photograph
• Nine tracks across two sides

About the album

Before the smooth hits and the arena tours, George Benson was a sharp young jazz guitarist from Pittsburgh with a knack for making pop songs swing. Giblet Gravy, his fourth album, came out in 1968 with producer Esmond Edwards at the desk and a band most leaders would trade a kidney for: Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter and Bob Cranshaw on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, Eric Gale on second guitar and Johnny Pacheco on congas.

Tom McIntosh wrote horn charts for Pepper Adams, Snooky Young, Ernie Royal and Jimmy Owens on half the record, and Benson rides on top of them with an easy, bluesy confidence. The quieter cuts, 'What's New?' and a loose reading of 'Walk On By,' let him stretch out with the rhythm section, while the title track and 'Low Down and Dirty' are pure soul jazz.

The gravy in question, for the record, is the kitchen kind. His next Verve album was called Goodies, so somebody at the label was clearly peckish.

Tracklist

Listen

Out August 14, 2026 on Verve (cat# 5733745), a reissue of the 1968 album.