Just like in `76 when I recorded Breezin’ and everybody expected instrumentals at 8,000 notes per second like I’d done in the past. I dropped a vocal, ‘This Masquerade,’ on `em instead! So, we’re coming in strong from the left this time. When the DJ says, ‘That was George Benson,’ folks will be like, `What?’ They’re not gonna believe it…and that’s what we want.”

Though Benson has graced contemporary urban radio within the last few years both as a guest instrumentalist on Mary J. Blige’s hit ballad “Seven Days” and on acid jazz band Nuyorican Soul’s “You Can Do It (Baby),” his own new music will floor the industry. The album’s title track/American first single “Irreplaceable” gently eases listeners into the new ‘G.B. vibe’ with its easy rolling beat, sunny melodies, a reference to the Stevie Wonder classic “Ribbon in the Sky” and a nod to the vernacular of the street when he sings about a girl who has his heart “bangin’ like an 808.” Meanwhile overseas in the U.K., the lead-off single will be “Cell Phone,” a moving song destined to be a conversation piece for Benson regarding matters of spirituality and the hereafter.

Assisting Benson in his 2004 hit mission is renowned songwriter/producer Joshua Thompson, whose platinum touch has graced the albums of R&B stars ranging from The Temptations and Luther Vandross to Alicia Keys and Tyrese. Indeed, a duet he co-wrote for singers Case and JOE titled “Faded Pictures” is arguably one of contemporary soul music’s finest hours within the last decade. He is a hit maker with exceptionally high levels of musicality and taste by today’s standards. With guitar as his primary axe, Thompson was the perfect candidate to usher Benson back to the R&B chart top.

Joe Thompson (a.k.a. R&B star JOE, who tailor made several of Irreplaceable’s songs. “‘Strings of Love,’ ‘Six Play’ and ‘Irreplaceable’ were written specifically for George,” Thompson shares. “We tried to keep it accessible to your average listener, but have enough color in the melody and harmony to make it interesting for him as a singer and improviser on his guitar--giving him space to create.” The (10)-song album also includes a primarily instrumental cover of Case’s hit “Missing You,” a personal favorite of Benson’s that spent four weeks at the top of the R&B chart in 2001. Little did he know then that the hit was yet another feather in the production cap of Thompson. Benson’s new version prominently features Verve label mate Richard Bona playing lovely lead bass against George’s ever-tasty guitar. In praise of Bona, Benson states, “He’s got a great sound, his personality is in the instrument and he’s got great chops, but makes it sound easy. You’d have to be a player and try some of that stuff to know just how great he is.”

Other little instrumental highlights abound on the mostly vocal album – from George doing a tandem solo with harmonica player Gregoire Maret on the shimmering dream “Stairway To Love” (available in vocal and instrumental versions). There’s Benson’s signature sound on the solo and sweets spots of the sexy “Sixplay.” And then there’s “Strings of Love,” which, Thompson notes with pride, marks the first time Benson has played acoustic guitar on a recording. George and Joshua are both playing Jose Ramirez Spanish guitars on that selection. “That was a real pleasure,” Thompson states. “George is a real mentor who set the standard for jazz guitarists--guitar players, in general--around the world. And he’s still taking that to higher levels. He’s quite an inspiration. You can’t replace the experience of working with an artist of George’s caliber.”

Though few people know it, George Benson’s first recordings were as a 10-year old singing sensation. It wasn’t until a few years later--as a member of a vocal group that needed a guitarist--that Benson shifted his focus. Following a featured stint in organist Jack McDuff’s trio, Benson began releasing albums as a leader on the Prestige and Columbia labels that were mostly instrumental but dotted with occasional vocal numbers. His renown on guitar overshadowed his singing for many years as he released more jazz discs on Verve and CTI, also becoming a prolific first call sideman for everyone from Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Minnie Riperton.

In 1976, after a move to Warner Bros. under the production of Tommy LiPuma, Benson finally broke through as a singer with his crossover smash cover of Leon Russell’s “This Masquerade,” which sent the album to multi-platinum sales status (a rare feat for a “jazz” album). From that point on, George Benson has managed to enviably surf the chart tops of the jazz,

R&B and pop worlds, defying confining categorization year in, year out. A 2003 singles compilation, The Greatest Hits of All, has been swiftly earning gold and platinum plaques in territories around the globe. And ever since Benson’s reunion with LiPuma (now Chairman of Verve) as a GRP artist with the albums That’s Right (1996), Standing Together (1998) and Absolute Benson (2000), he has consistently earned heavy rotation at smooth jazz, NAC and Quiet Storm radio.

Now, with Irreplaceable, the time has arrived for George Benson to remind the world where his talents all began with a soulful album precision tuned to the tenor of the times.