Dissecting a George Benson Line: The Harmonic Secret of Playing Bbmaj7 Over C7
The "Outside" Sound Beyond Conventional Scales As you delve deeper into jazz improvisation, you inevitably encounter "magical" lines that cannot be explained by textbook scales or arpeggios alone. The playing of George Benson is particularly full of such moments. His solos are bluesy yet exceptionally modern, fitting perfectly within the changes while simultaneously delivering thrilling "outside" sounds that defy expectation. What is the secret behind this sophisticated sound? As we explored when analyzing a line from "Off The Top" in the transcript, the answer often lies in the concept of Upper Structures: borrowing and superimposing harmonic material from one chord onto another.
The Wes Montgomery Legacy Found Over C7: The Bbmaj7 Triad During the Q&A, a viewer inquired about a specific phrase George Benson played over a C7 chord. Upon analysis, the core of that line was the application of a Bb major triad (Bb-D-F). This was not a random assortment of notes. It is a choice steeped in the lineage of jazz guitar and profound harmonic logic.
1. Harmonic Function Analysis: Let's examine the functions of the notes Bb, D, and F in relation to the C7 chord: ◦ Bb: The flat 7th (b7) ◦ D: The major 9th ◦ F: The perfect 11th When you hear these three notes against the root (C), they create an ambiguous yet sophisticated sound, similar to a C9sus4 chord. In essence, instead of playing a straightforward C dominant sound, George Benson built another structure—the Bbmaj7—on top of it, creating a much richer and more modern texture. This Bbmaj7 functions as an Upper-Structure Triad (UST) over the C7.
2. The Influence of Wes Montgomery: What's even more fascinating is that this approach was not Benson's sole invention. It was directly influenced by the lines of his paramount predecessor, Wes Montgomery. Wes frequently used sounds from the related minor II chord (Gm, containing G-Bb-D) or the subdominant minor (which gravitates towards Bbmaj7) over a dominant chord like C7 to artificially create the sound of a II-V progression. George Benson inherited this powerful idea from Wes and elevated it to a new level by combining it with his own explosive rhythm and chromaticism. As I demonstrated in the original stream, the process of fusing two different Wes licks into a new signature Benson lick is a prime example of this musical evolution.
Transcribe the Concept, Not Just the Lick To truly understand and apply George Benson's lines to your own playing, you must move beyond merely copying the fingering and start extracting the concepts hidden within. It's not about memorizing the formula "play Bbmaj7 over C7." It's about understanding the harmonic principle: "Superimpose the bVII major triad over a dominant chord to create a 9sus4 sound." Once you grasp this principle, you can apply it infinitely—using an Ebmaj7 over F7, an Fmaj7 over G7, and so on. The solos of the great masters are treasure troves, offering us countless harmonic ideas and possibilities waiting to be understood. For a deeper analysis of upper structures and modern jazz harmony, explore the advanced courses at VoiceLidJazzGuitar.com.