Wow! Having been introduced to George Benson with his "Beyond the Blue Horizon" album in the 70's, I watched him progress by purchasing "Breezin'", "Give Me the Night", and "George Benson Collection". Then I lost interest as my musical tastes expanded. So now, after many years, I try to find something else by him that I might like. It was tough. He's a fine singer and brilliant musician, but he's stretched so far into smooth jazz and R&B that I almost wouldn't even recognize that a lot of his newer stuff was his without being told. Fortunately, thanks to the samples here on Amazon, I was able to stumble onto this one. What I was looking for was a good mix of George Benson's singing and guitar playing in a straight up jazz setting. I wasn't expecting to find it with a big band backdrop, but to my surprise here it is. And one cookin' big band it is. I wouldn't expect less from the Count Basie band, and I wouldn't expect less from George Benson. I know George Benson has been a part of several big bands, including a late '70's PBS television appearance with Benny Goodman and backing Frank Sinatra on the 1984 "L.A. Is My Lady" album, but never as the featured singer to my knowledge. It's a natural progression. Too bad it took so long to happen as I'm sure Count Basie would have loved to witness it. This CD is brilliant.