George Benson a master of jazz-blues feelings

George Benson knows blues, jazz, guitar and singing, as well as entertaining a crowd. And as he performs around the world in 2015, his new record, the 2-CD “Ultimate Collection” is giving fans another look at the legendary performer.

And fans of his can see him once again on Sunday at Thornton Winery in Temecula as part of the 2015 Champagne Jazz Concert Series.

“The record label put the collection together, but they let me have input and the final say,” he said during a recent telephone interview. “I gave them the leeway, and that is because we’ve sold a million copies just from compilations.”

There’s quite a collection of music to draw from as well, that’s a no-brainer considering the talent level. He has recorded with his share of notables, such as Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, and Chet Atkins.

“Chet and I recorded some stuff in his home where I spent an amazing couple of days,” he said. “We put down the tracks, ate some catfish and went into town and heard some great bluegrass.”

And he’s worked with another well-known guitarist, Earl Klugh.

“You know, people seem to think we should be battling out or something,” he said. “But we are about the music. It’s about playing good music.”

All Benson has done is recorded for decades and won ten Grammys. Part of the reason may just be that he is so open to different sounds and styles, which is evident on his collection.

There is “This Masquerade,” the Grammy winning song from his massive hit album “Breezin’,” featuring Benson on lead vocal; of course, that is the first platinum jazz album in history. There is his version of the Drifters’ song “On Broadway,” which was both a hit and a constant fan favorite at his shows.

“I spent a great deal of time on those records and when I hear them they have great arrangements and they just hold up,” he said. “I hear the tasty parts on this collection and am still amazed. It makes me wonder what I was thinking about when I recorded them, but that’s how they felt to me.”

There are plenty of other Top Ten songs, such as “Give Me the Night” (#4) and “Turn Your Love Around” (#5).

It’s a long way from the streets of Pittsburgh when Benson played his ukulele as a young boy.

“I would play it and people would make donations, but I left it behind when I found out I was playing it wrong and couldn’t play it the way it was supposed to be played,” he said. “I got a cheap guitar for Christmas.”

Since then he worked his craft and was a natural. He played a lot of blues.

“I worked with Jack McDuff and he told me that if you can play the blues then you can play anything,” he said. “We were kids and didn’t know a lot. It became a challenge to us to see if we could really do it. Blues was the thing in our neighborhood so that is what we did.”

And play anything he has. There is the Jefferson Starship cover “White Rabbit,” “Unchained Melody,” and “Beyond the Sea” There are the duets, such as “Love will Come Again” with Chaka Khan, “When I Fall in Love with Idina Menzel and Moody’s Mood with Patti Austin.

“You know, you never know what songs will reach people where,” he said. “One year in Europe we put out a CD there and it sold in the United Kingdom alone 350,000 copies. In America it sold 30,000!”

Part of the attraction, as well as part of the need to detail, is the fact he hits both the R&B, Easy Listening and Pop charts.

“It’s been like that from the very beginning,” he said. “For example, if you look at ‘Turn Your Love Around’ you see that’s a song that had good sales on pop, R&B and jazz. Our records have just been like that.”

But he will always be playing jazz.

“You may hear me doing songs that don’t seem like they are jazz but they are going to sure be jazz when I am plying them,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and it is who I am. It has definitely worked for me.”