George Benson Honored by Wyclef Jean, More at Jazz Foundation Event

Ten-time Grammy Award winner George Benson is the 2026 recipient of the Tommy LiPuma Award for Recording Excellence. The honor was presented by the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) during its fundraising event at Vibrato Grill Jazz in Los Angeles on Sunday (Nov. 1).

The evening’s additional lifetime achievement honorees included four esteemed musicians saluted together as Titans of Jazz: pianist/NEA Jazz Master Patrice Rushen (also known for her 1982 R&B/dance hit “Forget Me Nots”), saxophonist Azar Lawrence (whose credits include Elvin Jones and Miles Davis), bassist Henry “The Skipper” Franklin (Roy Ayers, Hugh Masekela) and drummer Roy McCurdy (Cannonball Adderley, Ella Fitzgerald). Also honored for her longtime support of the music community was philanthropist/Vibrato managing partner Eden Alpert, who received the Quincy Jones Love & Peace Humanitarian Award from Jones’ daughter Martina Jones. Music icon Jones, who died in 2024, was an honorary founder of the JFA.

Noting Alpert’s commitment to JFA by “hosting benefits at Vibrato over the past decade,” JFA executive director Joe Petrucelli said, “Through her philanthropic work and leadership, Eden has provided opportunities for veteran and emerging musicians alike while contributing to the vitality of the live music community in Los Angeles.”

Legendary songwriter Mike Stoller of Leiber & Stoller presented Benson’s award. “I first heard of George as a wonderful jazz guitar player,” Stoller said in part. “Then I found out he could do other things. He later made four songwriters very happy —  Barry Mann and wife Cynthia Weil, my late partner Jerry Lieber and me — as we were thrilled to hear a version of a song we wrote as performed by him, and he knocked us down. The song was ‘On Broadway.’ [This award] is so deserved.”

During his acceptance speech, Benson name-checked several people who played pivotal roles in his career. In addition to Stoller, those people included Herb Alpert, frontman of famed band Tijuana Brass and co-founder of A&M Records — who helped Benson “buy my first house” — as well as late acclaimed producer Tommy LiPuma, who helmed Benson’s game-changing 1976 album Breezin’.

“Tonight is an incredible night for a lot of reasons,” said Benson. “I’m sharing it with people who love the same things that I love. And thanks for contributions to the auction because I know what it’s going to do for some very deserving people who gave us a lot of the wonderful music that we’ve enjoyed for many years. This is just one way to give some of that back.”

Grammy-winning drummer Steve Jordan, who currently plays with The Rolling Stones, served as the event’s artistic director. Accompanied by a band of top-notch musicians, Jordan saluted Benson through a rousing set of the latter’s classics: “Breezin’” and “This Masquerade” featuring guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, “Turn Your Love Around” and “Give Me the Night” sung by Aloe Blacc and “On Broadway” with Grammy winner Wyclef Jean. NEA Jazz Master Carmen Lundy led the lineup of the evening’s performers with her opening set, followed by the Titans of Jazz.

Rounding out the evening was a live auction. Among the items up for bid were an autographed Ibanez George Benson Signature Line guitar with case (sold for $6,500) and “On Broadway” sheet music as performed by Benson and signed by Stoller ($2,000).

Proceeds from the evening benefit the JFA’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund, which provides housing assistance, healthcare, disaster relief and employment opportunities. It’s all in keeping with the organization’s 37 years-and-counting mission: “Honoring jazz, blues & roots … one musician at a time.”