Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole is a studio album by George Benson. The album was released by Concord Jazz on June 4, 2013. It peaked at #89 on the Billboard album chart.
Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole has received very positive reception from music critics. Steve Leggett of Allmusic affirmed that "it all adds up to a sweet and very impressive album, full of warmth and heart, and it swings where it should." At USA Today, Steve Jones praised it for "his smooth vocals [that] make this homage unforgettable."
Vinyl LP
Regular CD
Best Buy Edition CD (incl. 2 Bonus Tracks)
Japanese Edition CD (incl. Bonus Track)
QVC Edition (Regular CD + 6-track Bonus Disc)
HD Tracks (High Definition Music Downloads)
iTunes (incl. Bonus Track)
George Benson - vocals, guitar
Lil' Georgie Benson (age 8) - vocals, ukulele (on track 1)
Randy Waldman - piano
Tim May - guitar
Michael O'Neill - baritone guitar, banjo on "Ramblin' Rose"
Chuck Berghofer - bass
Gregg Field - drums
Michael Fisher - percussion
Sheila E. - percussion on "Unforgettable"
Janey Clewer, Alvin Chea, Don Chelton - background vocals on "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "Smile", "That Sunday, That Summer" and "Ramblin' Rose"
Chris Papastephanou, Randy Waldman - background vocals on "Straighten Up and Fly Right"
Wynton Marsalis - trumpet on "Unforgettable"
Idina Menzel - vocals on "When I Fall in Love"
Till Brönner - trumpet on "Smile"
Judith Hill - vocals on "Too Young"
Trumpets - Ryan Chapman, Chris Burbank, Gilbert Paz, Jared Hall
Trombones - Chris Gagne, Kendall Moore, Stephen Szabadi, Major Bailey
Alto Saxophones - Neil Carson, Kevin McKeown
Tenor Saxophones - Mark Small, Alex Weitz
Baritone Saxophone - Derek Smith
Flute - Cassandra Eisenreich
French Horn - Jon Anderson
Violin - Steffen Zeichner (Concertmaster & Soloist), Abby Young, Adam Diderrich, Karin O'Keefe, Zack Piper, Michelle Godbee, Patricia Jancova, Tomas Cotik, Victor Colmenares, James Reynolds, Jonah Osawa, * Rob Patrignani, Arianne Urban, Michelle Mlacker, Katrina Schaeffer
Viola - Robyn Savitzky, Kathryn Severing, Marcela Fernandez, Lauren Miller
Cello - Joy Adams, Cecilia Huerta, Andrew Kromholz, Chia-Li Yu, Sarah Gongaware
Bass - Rachel Hershey, Jeff Kipperman, Yen-Ling Lin
Harp - Christina Hardister
Dean - Shelton Berg
Artistic Director - Terence Blanchard
Artistic Coordinator - Scott Flavin
Managing Director - Stephen Guerra
