George Benson
With the first platinum jazz album and 10 Grammys® among his musical feats, George Benson has accomplished more in his career than most musicians can fathom – and few will ever realize. But the culmination of his musical journey would have to be his most recent project in which he honors his idol, Nat King Cole. “Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole” is an album for which George Benson has spent his whole life preparing. Collaborating with conductor Randy Waldman, The Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, guest trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Till Brönner, and singers Idina Menzel and Judith Hill, the singer-songwriter breathes new life into Cole’s work while still maintaining his trademark guitar scat style and superb tenor vocals.
Boney James
The preeminent face of urban jazz, sax virtuoso Boney James weaves hip hop, R&B and Latin flavors into our lineup on The Smooth Jazz Cruise. A student of the saxophone since age 10, he did session work for the Isley Brothers, Randy Crawford and Ray ParkerJr. prior to launching his solo career in 1992. With Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind & Fire and saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. among his musical inspirations, Boney James has soared to great acclaim and raked in the accolades, including nine No.1 albums on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, four Grammy® nominations, a Soul Train Music Award, two top 10 entries on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and more than 3 million in record sales. He performs as many as 80 live gigs annually and is proficient in the tenor, alto and soprano saxophones.
David Sanborn
For David Sanborn, learning to play a musical instrument proved both life changing and life sustaining. Introduced at a young age to the saxophone as part of his recovery from polio, the natural found himself playing with legends like Albert King and Little Milton by age 14. Twenty-four albums and six Grammy® Awards later, David Sanborn is largely credited with returning the saxophone to relevance in contemporary rock, pop and R&B. Prior to launching his solo career in the mid 70s, the accomplished musician toured with Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. As a solo artist, he’s collaborated with James Taylor, Paul Simon and Luther Vandross and secured eight Gold albums and one Platinum album.
Peabo Bryson
Coined the “Pavarotti of soul singers” by The New York Times, Peabo Bryson made music history as the first artist to have separate records topping four different charts. Among those immensely popular hits are his duet with Roberta Flack, “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” and single “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again,” both of which went to No. 1 on the adult contemporary charts. Additionally, his collaborations on Disney theme songs – “Beauty and the Beast” with Celine Dion and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)” with Regina Belle – have earned him two Grammy awards. With 20 albums to his name including a debut that had a young Luther Vandross singing background, Peabo Bryson’s music has left an indelible mark on the lives of generations of listeners since he started singing nearly five decades ago.
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