Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/ hard bop
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 including " Blues March", " Whisper Not", and "Killer Joe".
Biography
While in high school in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane,
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 j ...
Bull Moose Jackson
Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989)Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered a ...
'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 ...
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.
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'', ''
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.
T ...
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, 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
wrote that Golson's sax style underwent a major shift with his performing comeback, more resembling avant-garde Archie Shepp than the swing-era Don Byas influence of Golson's youth. In 1982, Golson re-organized the Jazztet.
In 1996, Golson received the NEA Jazz Masters 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'', related to his appearance in " A Great Day in Harlem", a group photograph of prominent jazz musicians. Main character Viktor Navorski ( Tom Hanks) 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 (died 2008), Eddie Locke (died 2009), Hank Jones (died 2010), Marian McPartland (died 2013), Horace Silver (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. 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, Golson 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. 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
*" Blues March", 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
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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.
Benny Golson and the Philadelphians
''Benny Golson and the Philadelphians'' is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson which was recorded in November and December 1958. Originally released on the United Artists label,
Groovin' with Golson
''Groovin' with Golson'' is the sixth album by saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1959 and originally released on the New Jazz label.
Take a Number from 1 to 10
''Take a Number from 1 to 10'' is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 and originally released on the Argo label.
Tune In, Turn On
''Tune In, Turn On'' (subtitled ''To the Hippest Commercials of the Sixties'') is an album by Benny Golson featuring music from television advertisements recorded in 1967 and released on the Verve label.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, 19 ...
This Is for You, John
''This Is for You, John'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1983 and released on the Japanese Baystate Records, Baystate label the following year. The album features saxophonist Pharoah Sanders performing tunes a ...
'' (Baystate, 1984) – recorded in 1983
* ''
Stardust
Stardust may refer to:
* A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space
Entertainment Songs
* “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael
* “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974
* “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012
* ...
'' with Freddie Hubbard (Denon, 1987)
* '' Benny Golson Quartet Live'' (Dreyfus, 1991) – recorded in 1989
* ''
Benny Golson Quartet
''Benny Golson Quartet'', also released as ''Up, Jumped, Spring'', is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1990 and originally released by the LRC Ltd. label.Domingo'' (Dreyfus, 1992) – recorded in 1991
* '' I Remember Miles'' (Alfa Jazz, 1993) – recorded in 1992
* '' That's Funky'' (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
''Remembering Clifford'' is an album by the saxophonist/composer Benny Golson, recorded in 1997 and released on the Milestone label the following year.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Cub Koda stated: "Benny Golson was moved by the death of bo ...
'' (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
''Horizon Ahead'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 2015 and released on the HighNote Records, HighNote label the following year.
Reception
All About Jazz's Jack Bowers stated "At age eighty-seven, saxophonist ...