''Givin' It Up'' is a collaborative album by American musicians

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

and Al Jarreau, released on October 24, 2006, by

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...

. It contains songs previously recorded by both artists (Benson's "Breezin" and Jarreau's "Mornin") and original music. Other vocalists and musicians featured are Jill Scott, Patti Austin, Herbie Hancock,

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first ja ...

Abe Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in ...

, Marcus Miller, and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. This project also includes standards by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

(" God Bless the Child") and Sam Cooke (" Bring It On Home to Me"), pop songs by

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...

(" Summer Breeze") and

Daryl Hall Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock music, rock, rhythm and blues, R&B and soul music, soul singer and musician, best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Daryl ...

Everytime You Go Away "Everytime You Go Away" is a song written and composed by Daryl Hall. It was first recorded in 1980 by the American duo Hall & Oates but was not released as a single. A cover version of the song by Paul Young became an international hit in 1985, ...

") along with the jazz-swing "Four" by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, and "

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upp ...

" by

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

. In 2007, Benson was awarded his ninth (or tenth) and Jarreau was awarded his sixth

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance on "God Bless the Child" with Scott. Benson also won his tenth (or ninth) Grammy for

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

on "Mornin'", while "Breezin'" received a nomination for

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1967 to 1968 the ...

Track listing

Personnel

– guitar, lead vocals (1, 3–6, 9–13), arrangements (4), backing vocals (7) * Al Jarreau – lead vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 8–13), vocal percussion (1, 2, 4, 10), backing vocals (2, 7), arrangements (8) *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

– keyboards (1, 5), arrangements (1, 5, 10), acoustic piano (5, 10) * Michael Broening – keyboards (2, 7, 13), programming (2, 7), arrangements (2, 7), organ (13) * Herbie Hancock – acoustic piano (3) *

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...

– keyboards (3, 10, 12), Fender Rhodes (4, 6, 8, 13), arrangements (4), acoustic piano (11) * Rex Rideout – acoustic piano (6), arrangements (6) * Barry Eastmond – keyboards (8), arrangements (8) * Freddie Ravel – Fender Rhodes (9), clavinet (9), organ (9), synthesizers (9),

Moog bass The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...

(9), drums (9), percussion programming (9), arrangements (9), BGV arrangements (9) * Joe Turano –

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

(12), Hammond B3 organ (12), arrangements (12) *

Randy Waldman Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. In 2019, Waldman's arrangement of the " Spider-Man Theme" on his ''Superheroes'' album garnered the Grammy Award f ...

– acoustic piano (13), arrangements (13) * Ray Fuller – guitar (1, 5) *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

– guitar (1, 5, 10, 13), rhythm guitar (8) * Freddie Fox – guitar (2, 7) * Michael O'Neill – rhythm guitar (9) * Michael Thompson – guitar (10) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– electric bass (1, 6, 13) * Mel Brown – bass guitar (2, 7) * Marcus Miller – bass guitar (3, 4, 5, 8, 10), arrangements (3) *

– bass guitar (11, 12) *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums (1, 4, 5, 8, 10–13) * Michael White – drums (2, 3, 7) *

Gregg Field Gregg Field (born February 21, 1956) is an American record producer and musician, who has worked with many well-known artists. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy and Emmy awards. Early life Field was born in Castro Valley, California, Unit ...

– drums (6) *

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

– drums (6) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 5, 8, 10, 13) *

Bashiri Johnson Bashiri Johnson (born May 12, 1955) is a New York City-based percussionist, whose work has appeared on many records, as well as in commercials, films, television, videogames, and concert performances. He is known to be one of the most recorded ...

– percussion (8) * Marion Meadows – saxophone (2, 7) *

– trumpet (8) * John Burk – arrangements (4) * Jill Scott – lead vocals (4) * Patti Austin – lead and backing vocals (8), BGV arrangements (8) * Maxi Anderson – backing vocals (8) * Valerie Pinkston – backing vocals (8) * Sharon Perry – backing vocals (8) * Darlene Perry – backing vocals (8) * Lorraine Perry – backing vocals (8) * Sandra Simmons Williams – backing vocals (8) * De'Ante Duckett – backing vocals (9, 13) * Alethea Mills - backing vocals (9, 13) * Chavonne Morris – backing vocals (9, 13) * Fred Martin – BGV arrangements (9, 13) *

– lead vocals (13)

Production

* Producers – John Burk (All tracks); Michael Broening (Tracks 2 & 7); Patti Austin (Track 8); Freddie Ravel (Track 9). * Co-Producers – Marcus Miller (Track 3); Larry Williams (Track 10); Chris Dunn (Track 11). * Additional Production on Track 8 – Barry Eastmond and

* Executive Producers – Glen Barros, Kevin Lee and Noel Lee. * Recording Engineers – Michael Broening, Myron Chandler, Jeff Harris, Don Murray, Charlie Paakkari, Seth Presant and Bill Smith. * Additional Engineering – Kevin Becka, Barry Eastmond, Eric Ferguson, Carlos Martinez, Dennis Moody and John Wroble. * Assistant Engineers – Phillip Broussard, Keith Gretlein, Casey Lewis and Paul Smith. * Recorded at

Henson Recording Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served ...

, NRG Studios and Capitol Studios (Hollywood, CA); G Studio Digital (Studio City, CA); LAFX Studios, The Pass, Willyworld and Ravelation Studios (Los Angeles, CA); White Lightning Studios (Sylmar, CA); Porcupine Studios (Chandler, AZ); The "B" Hive (Phoenix, AZ); East Bay Studios (Tarrytown, NY). *

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

and Editing – Seth Presant, Bill Smith and German Villacorta. * Additional Pro Tools Engineer – Alex Pavlides * Mixed by

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...

at Capitol Studios, assisted by Steve Genewick. * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

and Sangwook Nam at The Mastering Lab (Ojai, CA). * A&R – Chris Dunn * A&R Administration – Mary Hogan * Production Consultant – Gerald McCauley * Art Direction – Abbey Anna and Andrew Pham * Design – Andrew Pham * Photography – Randee St. Nicholas

Charts

Awards

2006 - 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums George Benson albums Al Jarreau albums Albums produced by Marcus Miller Concord Records albums