Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson is known for co-founding and co-leading

The Jazztet The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...

with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959. From the late 1960s through the 1970s Golson was in demand as an arranger for film and television and thus was less active as a performer, but he and Farmer re-formed the Jazztet in 1982. In addition to " I Remember Clifford", many of Golson's compositions have become

jazz standards Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list ...

including "

Blues March "Blues March" is a composition by Benny Golson. It was first recorded for Blue Mitchell's Riverside album '' Big 6'' on July 2 and 3, 1958,Yanow, Scot"Blue Mitchell: Big 6" AllMusic. Retrieved December 21, 2013. and has become a jazz standard.B ...

", " Whisper Not", and "Killer Joe".

Biography

While in high school in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He wa ...

, and

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

. After graduating from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, Golson joined Bull Moose Jackson's

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

band;

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swin ...

, 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 Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

Earl Bostic Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which he ...

, Dizzy Gillespie, and

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

, with whom he recorded the classic ''Moanin in 1958. Golson was working with the Lionel Hampton band at the Apollo Theater in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

in 1956 when he learned that Clifford Brown, a noted and well-liked jazz trumpeter who had done a stint with him in Dameron'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. In addition to "I Remember Clifford", many of Golson's other compositions have become jazz standards. Songs such as "Stablemates", "Killer Joe", " Whisper Not", "Along Came Betty", and "Are You Real?", have been performed and recorded numerous times by many musicians. Benny Golson 1985

From 1959 to 1962, Golson co-led

the Jazztet The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...

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 '' Mannix'', '' Ironside'', ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

'' and '' Mission: Impossible''. He also formulated and conducted arrangements to various recordings, such as ''

Eric Is Here The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

'', a 1967 album by

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, which features five of Golson's arrangements, conducted by Golson. During the mid-1970s, Golson returned to jazz playing and recording. Critic Scott Yanow of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote that Golson's sax style underwent a major shift with his performing comeback, more resembling avant-garde

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

than the swing-era

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

influence of Golson's youth. In 1982, Golson re-organized the Jazztet. In 1996, Golson received the

NEA Jazz Masters The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the self-proclaimed highest honors that the United States bestows upon ...

Award of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. In 1999, Golson was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music. Golson made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the 2004 movie ''

The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...

'', related to his appearance in " A Great Day in Harlem", a group photograph of prominent jazz musicians. Main character Viktor Navorski (

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

) travels to the US from Europe to obtain Golson's signature; Golson was one of seven musicians then surviving from the photo, the others being

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

(died 2008),

Eddie Locke Eddie Locke (August 2, 1930 – September 7, 2009) was an American jazz drummer. Eddie Locke was a part of the fertile and vibrant Detroit jazz scene during the 1940s and 1950s, which brought forth many great musicians including the Jones bro ...

(died 2009), Hank Jones (died 2010),

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

(died 2013),

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

(died 2014), and Sonny Rollins. Golson's song "Something in B Flat" (from the album ''Benny Golson's New York Scene'') can be heard during a scene where Viktor is painting and redecorating part of an airport terminal; in a later scene, Golson's band performs "Killer Joe". 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 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. Additionally, during the same month, he won the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

International Academy of Jazz Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award at the university's 37th Annual Jazz Concert in the Carnegie Music Hall. In November 2009, Golson was inducted into the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame, during a performance at the

'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. Many distinguished jazz artists have received this award.

Notable compositions

*"And You Called My Name", 1954 *"Stablemates", 1955 *" Whisper Not", 1956 *"Are You Real?", 1958 *" I Remember Clifford", 1957 *"Just by Myself", 1957 *"

", 1958 *"Park Avenue Petite", aka "From Dream to Dream", 1959 *"Along Came Betty", 1958 *"Killer Joe", 1960 *"Beauty And The Blues" *"Blues After Dark" *"Five Spot After Dark" *"Gipsy Jingle-Jangle" *"Minor Vamp" *"Step Lightly" *"Strut Time *"The Stroller"

Gallery

Benny Golson in Denmark (2007) Image:benny-golson01.jpg Image:benny-golson02.jpg Image:benny-golson03.jpg Image:benny-golson05.jpg

Discography

* ''

The Modern Touch ''The Modern Touch'' is the second album by saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in late 1957 and originally released on the Riverside label.

'' (Riverside 1958) – recorded in 1957 * ''

The Other Side of Benny Golson ''The Other Side of Benny Golson'' is the third album by saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in late 1958 and originally released on the Riverside label.

'' (Riverside, 1958) * '' Benny Golson and the Philadelphians'' (United Artists, 1958) * '' Benny Golson's New York Scene'' (Contemporary, 1959) – recorded in 1957 * ''

Gone with Golson ''Gone with Golson'' is the fifth album by saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1959 and originally released on the New Jazz label.

'' (New Jazz, 1959) * '' Groovin' with Golson'' (New Jazz, 1959) * ''

Winchester Special ''Winchester Special'' is an album by vibraphonist Lem Winchester with saxophonist Benny Golson recorded in 1959 and released on the New Jazz label.Lem Winchester Lem Winchester (March 19, 1928 – January 13, 1961) was an American jazz vibraphone player. Early life Lemuel Winchester was born in Wilmington, Delaware. His parents were politician William J. Winchester and Alverta Winchester. Career Formerl ...

(New Jazz, 1959) * ''

Gettin' with It ''Gettin' with It'' is the seventh album by saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1959 and originally released on the New Jazz label.

'' (New Jazz, 1960) – recorded in 1959 * '' Take a Number from 1 to 10'' (Argo, 1961) – recorded in 1960-61 * '' Pop + Jazz = Swing'' (Audio Fidelity, 1962) * ''

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Ame ...

'' (Mercury, 1962) * '' Free'' (Argo, 1963) – recorded in 1962 * '' The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra'' with

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

(Mercury, 1964) * '' Stockholm Sojourn'' (Prestige, 1965) – recorded in 1964 * '' Tune In, Turn On'' (Verve, 1967) * '' Killer Joe'' (Columbia, 1977) * '' California Message'' with

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...

(Baystate, 1981) * '' One More Mem'ry'' with Curtis Fuller (Baystate, 1982) * ''

Time Speaks ''Time Speaks'', subtitled ''Dedicated to the Memory of Clifford Brown'', is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1982 and released on the Japanese Baystate label the following year. The album features trumpeters Fre ...

'' with Freddie Hubbard and

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

(Baystate, 1983) * '' This Is for You, John'' (Baystate, 1984) – recorded in 1983 * '' Stardust'' with Freddie Hubbard (Denon, 1987) * '' Benny Golson Quartet Live'' (Dreyfus, 1991) – recorded in 1989 * '' Benny Golson Quartet'' (LRC Ltd. 1990) * ''

Domingo Domingo may refer to: People * Domingo (name), a Spanish name and list of people with that name * Domingo (producer) (born 1970), American hip-hop producer * Saint Dominic (1170–1221), Castilian Catholic priest, founder of the Friars popularly ...

'' (Dreyfus, 1992) – recorded in 1991 * '' I Remember Miles'' (Alfa Jazz, 1993) – recorded in 1992 * ''

That's Funky ''That's Funky'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1994 and originally released by the Japanese Meldac Jazz label before being reissued by Arkadia Jazz in 2001. Reception The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nast ...

'' (Meldac Jazz, 1995) – recorded in 1994 * ''

Up Jumped Benny ''Up Jumped Benny'' is a live album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1996 and originally released by the Arkadia Jazz label. Reception The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell said "Benny Golson had not appeared on an Am ...

'' (

Arkadia Jazz Arkadia Records is an independent record label that was founded in 1996. The label was founded in New York City by Bob Karcy, who had been a manager for musicians and an independent record producer. The first release was Billy Taylor's ''Music Kee ...

, 1997) – recorded in 1996 * '' Tenor Legacy'' (Arkadia Jazz, 1998) – recorded in 1996 * '' Remembering Clifford'' (Milestone, 1998) – recorded in 1997 * '' One Day, Forever'' (Arkadia Jazz, 2001) – recorded in 1996-2000 * '' Terminal 1'' (Concord, 2004) * '' New Time, New 'Tet'' (Concord, 2009) – recorded in 2008 * '' Horizon Ahead'' (HighNote, 2016) – recorded in 2015

References

External links

Official SiteListening In: An Interview with Benny Golson
by Bob Rosenbaum, Los Angeles, February 1982 (PDF file) *
Benny Golson Recreates His Great 'Jazztet'
NPR Interview 2009 Jan 24 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Golson, Benny 1929 births African-American jazz musicians American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Bebop saxophonists Hard bop saxophonists Howard University alumni The Jazz Messengers members Living people Musicians from Philadelphia Prestige Records artists Riverside Records artists 21st-century saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania The Jazztet members Orchestra U.S.A. members HighNote Records artists Argo Records artists