Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.[1]
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While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and Red Rodney. After graduating from Howard University Golson joined Bull Moose Jackson's rhythm and blues band; Tadd Dameron, whom Golson came to consider the most important influence on his writing, was Jackson's pianist at the time.
From 1953 to 1959 Golson played with Dameron's band and then with the bands of Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with whom he recorded the classic Moanin' in 1958.
Golson was working with the Lionel Hampton band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in 1956 when he learned that Clifford Brown, a noted and well-liked jazz trumpeter who had done a stint with him in Hampton's band, had died in a car accident. Golson was so moved by the event that he composed the threnody "I Remember Clifford", as a tribute to a fellow musician and friend.
Golson has composed several other jazz standards, such as "Stablemates", "Killer Joe", "Whisper Not", "Along Came Betty" and "Are You Real?", that have gone on to be performed and recorded by many musicians.[2]
Benny Golson at Kimball's jazz club, San Francisco with the Jazztet, July 21, 1985
From 1959 to 1962 Golson co-led the Jazztet with Art Farmer. Golson then left jazz to concentrate on studio and orchestral work for 12 years. During this time he composed music for such television shows as Ironside, Room 222, M*A*S*H, and Mission: Impossible. During the mid-1970s Golson returned to jazz playing and recording. In 1982 he re-organized the Jazztet.[3]
In 1995 Golson received the NEA Jazz Masters Award of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Golson made a cameo appearance in the 2004 movie The Terminal, related to his appearance in the A Great Day in Harlem photo. As of 2007, he tours regularly.
In October 2007 Golson received the Mellon Living Legend Legacy Award presented by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation at a ceremony at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, during the same month, he won the University of Pittsburgh International Academy of Jazz Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award at the university's 37th Annual Jazz Concert in the Carnegie Music Hall.
In November 2009, Benny was inducted into the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame during a performance at the University of Pittsburgh's annual jazz seminar and concert.
The Howard University Jazz Studies program created a prestigious award in his honor called the "Benny Golson Jazz Master Award" in 1996. Several distinguished jazz artists have received this award.
Discography[]
As leader[]
- Benny Golson's New York Scene (Contemporary, 1957)
- The Modern Touch (Riverside, 1957)
- The Other Side of Benny Golson (Riverside, 1958)
- Benny Golson and the Philadelphians (United Artists, 1958)
- Gone with Golson (New Jazz, 1959)
- Groovin' with Golson (New Jazz, 1959)
- Gettin' with It (New Jazz, 1959)
- Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Argo, 1961)
- Pop + Jazz = Swing (Audio Fidelity, 1961) – also released as Just Jazz!
- Turning Point (Mercury, 1962)
- Free (Argo, 1962)
- Stockholm Sojourn (Prestige, 1964)
- Tune In, Turn On (Verve, 1967)
- Are You Real (CBS, 1977)
- Killer Joe (Columbia, 1977)
- I'm Always Dancin' to the Music (Columbia, 1978)
- California Message (Baystate, 1980)
- One More Mem'ry (Baystate, 1981)
- Up, Jumped Spring (LRC Ltd., 1990)
- Up Jumped Benny (Arkadia Jazz, 1997)
- That's Funky (Arkadia Jazz, 2000)
- One Day Forever (Arkadia Jazz, 2001)
- Terminal 1 (Concord Records, 2004)
- The Masquerade Is Over (Azzurra Music, 2005)
- The Many Moods of Benny Golson (Arkadia Jazz, 2007)
- Three Little Words (Synergie OMG, 2007)
- New Time, New 'Tet (Concord Records, 2009)
With the Jazztet[]
- Meet the Jazztet (Argo, 1960)
- Big City Sounds (Argo, 1960)
- The Jazztet and John Lewis (Argo, 1961)
- The Jazztet at Birdhouse (Argo, 1961)
- Here and Now (Mercury, 1962)
- Another Git Together (Mercury, 1962)
- Voices All (East West, 1982)
- Playboy Jazz Festival (Elektra/Musician, 1982)
- Moment to Moment (Soul Note, 1983)
- Nostalgia (Baystate, 1983)
- Back to the City (Contemporary, 1986)
- Real Time (Contemporary, 1986)
As arranger[]
With Kenny Burrell
- Both Feet on the Ground (Fantasy, 1973)
With Art Farmer
- Brass Shout (United Artists, 1959)
With Curtis Fuller
- Sliding Easy (United Artists, 1959)
With Red Holloway
- Sax, Strings & Soul (Prestige, 1964)
With Roland Kirk
- The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra (Mercury, 1963)
With Illinois Jacquet
- Bosses of the Ballad (Argo, 1964)
With Jack McDuff
- Prelude (Prestige, 1963)
- The Dynamic Jack McDuff (Prestige, 1964)
- Walk On By (Prestige, 1966)
- The Midnight Sun (Prestige, 1964-66 [1969])
- Steppin' Out (Prestige, 1961-66 [1969])
With Fred Payne
- How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore (MGM, 1966)
With Jimmy Witherspoon
- Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues (Prestige, 1964)
As sideman[]
With Art Blakey
- Moanin' (Blue Note, 1958)
With Cass Elliot
- Cass Elliot (RCA 1971)
With Art Farmer
- Modern Art (United Artists, 1958)
With Curtis Fuller
- Blues-ette (Savoy, 1959)
- The Curtis Fuller Jazztet (Savoy, 1959)
- Imagination (Savoy, 1959)
With Dizzy Gillespie
- Dizzy in Greece (Verve, 1957)
- Birks' Works (Verve, 1957)
- Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (Verve, 1957)
- The Greatest Trumpet of Them All (Verve, 1957)
- Bird Songs: The Final Recordings (Telarc, 1992)
- To Bird with Love (Telarc, 1992)
With Ernie Henry
- Last Chorus (Riverside, 1956–57)
With Milt Jackson
- Bags' Opus (United Artists, 1958)
With Philly Joe Jones
- Drums Around the World (Riverside, 1959)
With Abbey Lincoln
- It's Magic (Riverside, 1958)
With Blue Mitchell
- Out of the Blue (1959)
With Lee Morgan
- Lee Morgan Vol. 3 (Blue Note, 1957)
With Arkadia Jazz All Stars
- Thank You, Duke!
With Sarah Vaughan
- Sassy Swings Again (1967)
See also[]
- List of jazz arrangers
References[]
External links[]
Template:External links
- Official Site
- Listening In: An Interview with Benny Golson by Bob Rosenbaum, Los Angeles, February 1982 (PDF file)
- Template:IMDb name
- Benny Golson Recreates His Great 'Jazztet' NPR Interview 2009 Jan 24
- Benny Golson Interview at Allaboutjazz.com
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