George Benson Receives 2026 Tommy LiPuma Award at Jazz Foundation Benefit

The guitarist and singer George Benson has been named the 2026 recipient of the Tommy LiPuma Award for Recording Excellence. The honour was presented on Nov. 1 at a fundraising evening held by the Jazz Foundation of America at Vibrato Grill Jazz in Los Angeles, according to Billboard.

The event also paid tribute to other long-serving figures in jazz. Pianist Patrice Rushen was among the lifetime achievement honourees saluted together as Titans of Jazz. Singer and songwriter Eden Alpert was also honoured that evening, a plan the BroadwayWorld announced in October.

Songwriter Mike Stoller, of the writing partnership Leiber & Stoller, presented Benson's award. In his acceptance speech, Benson thanked the trumpeter and record executive Herb Alpert. He credited Alpert with helping him buy his first house.

The night had a musical side too. Wyclef Jean performed "On Broadway" as part of a salute to Benson. Steve Jordan served as artistic director for the evening, shaping the show's music.

Every ticket sale and donation was tied to a cause. Proceeds from the evening go to the Jazz Foundation's Musicians' Emergency Fund. The fund helps working musicians with housing costs, offers free medical care through volunteer doctors, and provides relief after hurricanes. The foundation says it can pay a musician's rent when illness, an accident or old age stops them from working, so that the person does not face eviction or homelessness.

Those are the kinds of costs that rarely show up on a concert poster. A musician who cannot play for a few months may still owe rent, medical bills and the rest of life's bills. The fund exists to cover some of that gap.

Benson's award and the fundraiser that carried it both celebrate the music. The benefit's purpose is about keeping the people who make that music housed, treated and working.