George Benson Receives Tommy LiPuma Award at Jazz Foundation of America Benefit

Guitarist and singer George Benson has received the Jazz Foundation of America's 2026 Tommy LiPuma Award for Recording Excellence. The honor was presented on Sunday, Nov. 1, during the JFA's fundraising evening at Vibrato Grill Jazz in Los Angeles, Billboard reported on Nov. 3. Proceeds benefit the foundation's Musicians' Emergency Fund, which provides housing assistance, healthcare, disaster relief and employment opportunities for jazz, blues and roots musicians.

Songwriter Mike Stoller of Leiber & Stoller presented the award. According to Billboard, Stoller recalled first knowing Benson as a jazz guitarist before hearing his version of "On Broadway," the song Stoller and Jerry Leiber wrote with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. In his acceptance speech, Benson credited Stoller, A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert and the late producer Tommy LiPuma, who produced Benson's 1976 album Breezin'. "This is just one way to give some of that back," Benson said, referring to the evening's auction for musicians in need.

The award's namesake fits the honoree closely. LiPuma produced Breezin', the 1976 album Billboard calls game-changing for Benson, and JFA artistic director Steve Jordan said in the foundation's October announcement that "no one embodies the merging of sophisticated pop and soulful swing like George Benson." That announcement described Benson as a 10-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master with a seven-decade career.

The same evening saluted four musicians together as Titans of Jazz: pianist and NEA Jazz Master Patrice Rushen, saxophonist Azar Lawrence, bassist Henry "The Skipper" Franklin and drummer Roy McCurdy. Philanthropist Eden Alpert, managing partner of Vibrato, received the Quincy Jones Love & Peace Humanitarian Award from Martina Jones, daughter of the late Quincy Jones, who was an honorary founder of the JFA.

Jordan, the Grammy-winning drummer who plays with The Rolling Stones, led the house band through a set of Benson's best-known recordings. Billboard reported that guitarist Isaiah Sharkey featured on "Breezin'" and "This Masquerade," Aloe Blacc sang "Turn Your Love Around" and "Give Me the Night," and Wyclef Jean joined for "On Broadway." NEA Jazz Master Carmen Lundy opened the program, followed by the Titans of Jazz. In the live auction, an autographed Ibanez George Benson signature guitar sold for $6,500, and "On Broadway" sheet music signed by Stoller went for $2,000.

The JFA, now in its 37th year, said in its pre-event announcement that it assisted in more than 7,000 cases over the past year through its social work services and emergency fund, alongside performance programs that employ musicians in schools, hospitals and community settings.