George Benson gave a heartfelt speech as he accepted the SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award at the SFJAZZ Gala 2026. The thee of the event was “Milestones: Celebrating Miles & Trane at 100” and the concert featured live performances by Gala honoree George Benson and SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard along with our own SFJAZZ Collective and special guests including bass greats Christian McBride, Richard Bona, and Marcus Miller, saxophonists Lakecia Benjamin and Tia Fuller, pianist Randy Waldman, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, and more. All proceeds from the event support SFJAZZ’s artistic, digital, and education initiatives, helping to nurture new generations of musicians and expand the reach of jazz throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

ABOUT GEORGE BENSON:
A prodigiously gifted musician, the Pittsburgh native made his recorded debut for RCA Victor at the tender age of eleven and learned the jazz vocabulary during his formative years with soul-jazz organist Brother Jack McDuff, who brought the guitarist to worldwide attention.
Benson’s 1964 Prestige debut The New Boss Guitar of George Benson established him as a virtuoso instrumentalist and vital new voice in jazz, setting the stage for a remarkable series of releases that effortlessly bridge jazz, soul, and pop.
On the heels of his era-defining procession of masterful recordings for producer Creed Taylor’s CTI imprint, Benson’s 1976 Warner Brothers album Breezin’ was a worldwide smash, hitting #1 on Billboard’s jazz, pop, and R&B charts on the strength of Bobby Womack’s timeless title track and a cover of Leon Russell’s “This Masquerade,” which earned a GRAMMY for Record of the Year. Breezin’ was the first jazz album to attain platinum status with sales of over one million copies.
As a pop crossover giant, Benson followed up Breezin’ with a succession of hits including his wildly popular cover of “On Broadway” and the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night.
His power and musicality undiminished at age 82, Benson makes his debut at SFJAZZ with a wide-ranging night of music from his incomparable career.