3 George Benson Chord Licks

One of my favorite players to listen to and study is George Benson. 

A master improviser, George never runs out of creative and hard-swinging lines in his chord solos. 

In this lesson, you learn 3 George Benson chord soloing licks that give you that cool-sounding Benson vibe in your own jazz guitar solos. 

By playing these phrases, you increase your vocabulary, create your own Benson style chord licks, and add a personal touch to these classic lines. 

Have fun learning these 3 lines as you explore and expand them in your playing.

George Benson Chord Soloing Licks 1

In this first phrase, George inserts a ii V in the middle of the phrase to create tension. 

He then resolves back to the G7 chord at the end of the second bar. 

Whenever you have a long span of one chord, you can insert a ii V to break things up without stepping outside the key center at the same time. 

As well, notice the use of the G triad in the first measure.

Triads are often perfect choice in your chord solos, as they outline the chords, are easy to play, and set up more complex/tense ideas later on in your phrase. 

George Benson Chord Soloing Licks 2

This phrase begins with another ii V sub, but this time it’s directly related to the underlying C7 chord instead of replacing that chord. 

When chord soloing over 7th chords, you can add in the related iim7 chord, such as adding in Dm7 over G7 to produce a Dm7-G7 sound, iim7-V7 in C major. 

The second item to notice is the use of lower and upper chromatic chords in the second and third bar. 

Creating tension with chromatic neighbor chords is something that you can explore to get a Benson vibe within your chord soloing ideas.

George Benson Chord Soloing Licks 3

The last George Benson chord lick uses several concepts from the first two lines.

There is diatonic superimposition, which you can see with the Dm7 and Em11 chords over G7 in bar one. 

Next, there’s an upper chromatic chord in bar 2, the G#13 that resolves to G13 in a smooth and musical fashion.

Lastly, there’s a diatonic iim7 chord, Dm7, that leads into a V7/V7 chord, D7alt, before ending the phrase on a G9 chord on the last 8th note of the final measure. 

You don’t have to have all these ideas in your lines to sound like George Benson. 

But, by adding chromatic neighbor chords and diatonic and related V7 chords you’re well on your way to getting that cool Benson vibe in your chord solos.