Givin' It Up finds crossover jazz icons guitarist George Benson and vocalist Al Jarreau teaming up for a breezy, enjoyably melodic session that highlights both artists' long careers.
Technically a duo album, it is Benson's first since signing with Concord Records.
As such, it works as a nice reintroduction to both artists and even finds them reworking the Bobby Womack classic "Breezin'," which Benson originally covered on his 1976 album of the same name.
Here listeners get Jarreau adding lyrics and vocals on a version that really evokes the classic '70s jazz-meets-R&B sound that was an original hallmark of smooth jazz.
In that sense, Givin' It Up is a true joy for fans of that more organic, song-oriented approach to crossover music, with Benson and Jarreau digging in to such great songs as Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze," John Legend's "Ordinary People," and Darryl Hall's "Every Time You Go Away." Also adding some unexpected fun and celebrity sheen to the proceedings is an impromptu appearance by Paul McCartney, who joins in on Sam Cooke's gospel-inflected "Bring It on Home to Me." Throw in appearances by trumpeter Chris Botti, vocalist Patti Austin, pianist Herbie Hancock, and bassist Marcus Miller and Stanley Clarke, and Givin' It Up proves music is always fun with a little help from your friends.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breezin'Al Jarreau | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 05:40 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 2 | Mornin'Al Jarreau | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | 'Long Come TutuAl Jarreau, Marcus Miller | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 06:38 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 4 | Summer BreezeDash Crofts, Jim Seals | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 5 | All I AmPhillip "Taj" Jackson, Rex Rideout | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | Ordinary PeopleJohn Legend, will.i.am | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 7 | Givin' It Up for LoveAl Jarreau, Freddie Ravel | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | Every Time You Go AwayDarryl Hall | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | FourMiles Davis, Jon Hendricks | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 10 | Don't Start No SchtuffAl Jarreau, Joe Turano | George Benson, Al Jarreau | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 11 | God Bless the Child (featuring Jill Scott) | George Benson | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 12 | Let It Rain (featuring Patti Austin) | George Benson | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 13 | Bring It On Home to Me (featuring Paul McCartney) | George Benson | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 62 mins | 143 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 405 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxi Anderson | Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Abbey Anna | Art Direction |
| 3 | Patti Austin | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Glen Barros | Executive Producer |
| 5 | Kevin Becka | Engineer |
| 6 | George Benson | Arranger, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Chris Botti | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 8 | Mike Broening | Arranger, Engineer, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Producer, Programming |
| 9 | Philip Brossard Jr. | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Mel Brown | Bass |
| 11 | John Burk | Arranger, Audio Production, Producer |
| 12 | Riku Camp | Grooming |
| 13 | Riku Campo | Grooming |
| 14 | Myron Chandler | Arranger, Engineer |
| 15 | Stanley Clarke | Bass, Guest Artist, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 16 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Drums |
| 17 | Sam Cooke | Composer |
| 18 | Dash Crofts | Composer |
| 19 | Paulinho Da Costa | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 20 | Miles Davis | Composer |
| 21 | De'Ante Duckett | Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Chris Dunn | A&R, Producer |
| 23 | Barry J. Eastmond | Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Keyboards, Producer |
| 24 | Gregg Field | Drums, Producer |
| 25 | Freddie Fox | Guitar |
| 26 | A. Ray Fuller | Guitar |
| 27 | Steve Genewick | Mixing Assistant |
| 28 | Keith Gretlein | Assistant Engineer |
| 29 | Darryl Hall | Composer |
| 30 | Herbie Hancock | Featured Artist, Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Piano |
| 31 | Jeff Harris | Engineer |
| 32 | Jon Hendricks | Composer |
| 33 | Arthur Herzog, Jr. | Composer |
| 34 | Mary Hogan | A&R |
| 35 | Billie Holiday | Composer |
| 36 | Phillip "Taj" Jackson | Composer |
| 37 | Al Jarreau | Arranger, Composer, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocal Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Bashiri Johnson | Percussion |
| 39 | Abraham Laboriel, Sr. | Bass (Electric) |
| 40 | Ricky Lawson | Drums |
| 41 | Kevin Lee | Executive Producer |
| 42 | Kevin Lee "The Little Monster" | Executive Producer |
| 43 | Noel Lee | Executive Producer |
| 44 | John Legend | Composer |
| 45 | Fred Martin & the Levite Camp | Vocal Arrangement |
| 46 | Carlos "Storm" Martinez | Engineer |
| 47 | Paul McCartney | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 48 | Gerald McCauley | A&R |
| 49 | Marion Meadows | Main Personnel, Saxophone |
| 50 | Heidi Meek | Stylist |
| 51 | Larry Melero | Guitar Technician |
| 52 | Marcus Miller | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel, Producer |
| 53 | Alethea Mills | Vocals (Background) |
| 54 | Chavonne Morris | Vocals (Background) |
| 55 | Don Murray | Engineer |
| 56 | Sangwook "Sunny" Nam | Mastering |
| 57 | Michael O'Neill | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 58 | Charles Paakkari | Arranger, Engineer |
| 59 | Dean Parks | Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 60 | Alex Pavlides | Digital Editing |
| 61 | Darlene Perry | Vocals (Background) |
| 62 | Lorraine Perry | Vocals (Background) |
| 63 | Sharon Perry | Vocals (Background) |
| 64 | Andrew Pham | Art Direction, Package Design |
| 65 | Valerie Pinkston | Vocals (Background) |
| 66 | Seth Presant | Arranger, Digital Editing, Editing, Engineer |
| 67 | Freddie Ravel | Arranger, Clavinet, Composer, Drums, Fender Rhodes, Moog Bass, Organ, Percussion, Programming, Synthesizer, Vocal Arrangement |
| 68 | Rex Rideout | Arranger, Composer, Piano |
| 69 | Travis Robertson | Assistant Engineer, Guitar Technician |
| 70 | Patrice Rushen | Arranger, Fender Rhodes, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Piano, Piano (Electric) |
| 71 | Randee Saint Nicholas | Photography |
| 72 | Doug Sax | Mastering |
| 73 | Al Schmitt | Mixing |
| 74 | Jill Scott | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 75 | Jim Seals | Composer |
| 76 | Bill Airey Smith | Arranger, Digital Editing, Editing, Engineer |
| 77 | Paul "Scooby" Smith | Assistant Engineer |
| 78 | Randee St. Nicholas | Photography |
| 79 | Terence Thomas | Guitar Technician |
| 80 | Michael Hart Thompson | Guitar |
| 81 | Joe Turano | Arranger, Composer, Organ (Hammond), Piano (Electric), Wurlitzer |
| 82 | German Villacorta | Digital Editing |
| 83 | Randy Waldman | Arranger, Piano |
| 84 | Michael White | Drums |
| 85 | Michael White | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 86 | will.i.am | Composer |
| 87 | Larry E. Williams | Arranger, Keyboards, Piano, Producer |
| 88 | Sandra Simmons Williams | Vocals (Background) |
| 89 | John Wroble | Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |