George Benson

Few performers have had a career more varied than George Benson, the Pittsburgh native who began in the 1960s as an instrumental jazz guitaristearning lofty comparisons to Django Reinhardt, playing with Miles Davis and recording a lauded, jazz version of The Beatles’ Abbey Road albumbefore moving on to a successful vocal R&B career in the ’70s and ’80s. These days he’s best known for his disco-era hit “Give Me the Night,” but he continues to record respectable jazz and R&B records. Givin’ It Up, in 2006, paired Benson with another icon of crossover jazz, Al Jarreau, and featured a cameo from Paul McCartney.