Benny Golson

Multitalented and internationally famous jazz legend, - a composer, arranger, lyricist, producer - and tenor saxophonist of world note, Benny Golson was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 25, 1929.

Raised with an impeccable musical pedigree, Golson has played in the bands of world famous Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Earl Bostic and Art Blakey.

Few jazz musicians can claim to be true innovators and even fewer can boast of a performing and recording career that literally redefines the term "jazz". Benny Golson has made major contributions to the world of jazz with such jazz standards as: Killer Joe, I Remember Clifford, Along Came Betty, Stablemates, Whisper Not, Blues March, Five Spot After Dark, Are you Real?

Benny Golson is the only living jazz artist to have written 8 standards for jazz repertoire. These jazz standards have found their way into countless recordings internationally over the years and are still being recorded.

He has recorded over 30 albums for many recording companies in the United States and Europe under his own name and innumerable ones with other major artists. A prodigious writer, Golson has written well over 300 compositions.

For more than 50 years, Golson has enjoyed an illustrious, musical career in which he has not only made scores of recordings but has also composed and arranged music for:

Count Basie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Mama Cass Elliott, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Shirley Horn, David Jones and the Monkees, Quincy Jones, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Anita O'Day, Itzhak Perlman, Oscar Peterson, Lou Rawls, Mickey Rooney, Diana Ross, The Animals (Eric Burden), Mel Torme, George Shearing, Dusty Springfield

His prolific writing includes scores for hit TV series and films:

M*A*S*H, Mannix, Mission Impossible, Mod Squad, Room 222, Run for Your Life, The Partridge Family, The Academy Awards, The Karen Valentine Show, Television specials for ABC, CBS and NBCTelevision specials for BBC in London and Copenhagen, DenmarkTheme for Bill Cosby's last TV show, A french film 'Des Femmes Disparaissent" (Paris)

He has written music for national radio and television spots for some of the major advertising agencies in the country. Some of these commercials were for:

Borateem, Canada Dry, Carnation, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Clorox, Dodge, General Telephone, Gillette, Heinz Foods, Jack in The Box, Liquid Plum'r, MacDonald's, Mattel Toys, Monsanto, Nissan, Ohrbachs, Ore-Ida Frozen Potatoes, Parliament Cigarettes, Pepsi Cola, Texaco

Benny Golson has absolute mastery of the jazz medium. He has not only blazed a trail in the world of jazz but is passionate abuot teaching jazz to young and old alike. He has lectured at the Lincoln Center through a special series by Wynton Marsalis. He has lectured to doctoral candidates at New York University and to the faculty at National University at San Diego.

Benny Golson, John Gilmore and Bud Powell

by David Brown
October 8, 2024

This week on the Jazz Continuum we kick things off celebrating the earth arrival day of saxophonist John Gilmore, born on this day in 1931. Gilmore is best known for his work with Sun Ra, but here we have him performing with Andrew Hill. Then, some trumpet works form the new release by Adam O'Farrill followed by Franz Koglmann. The show continues with a tribute to the late Benny Golson showcasing his compositions as played by Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, ...

Play This!

Remembering Benny Golson: Killer Joe

by Ian Patterson
September 26, 2024

Benny Golson, one of jny: Philadelphia's most famous jazz sons, died on 21 September, 2024. He was 95. One of the last giants of the golden age of jazz, Golson enjoyed a rich career as a leader, composer and arranger. His recording career as a leader spanned seven decades, from The Modern Touch (Riverside, 1958) to Horizon Ahead (Highnote, 2016). Golson continued to perform into his '90s, still leading small ensembles and big bands who played his charts.

Live Review

Benny Golson & Rainbow Jazz Orchestra alla Villa Medicea di Artimino

by Neri Pollastri
November 14, 2019

Benny Golson & Rainbow Jazz Orchestra Ognissanti Jazz Villa Medicea di Artimino Carmignano (PO) 3.11.2019 Il grande jazz fiorisce anche fuori dalle grandi città, anzi, talvolta trova attenzioni e spazi più accoglienti proprio là dove le luci sono meno intense. È il caso di Ognissanti Jazz, minirassegna di tre date giunta alla seconda edizione--organizzata dal Circolo Le Quinte con il supporto dei comuni di Carmignano, Poggio a Caiano e della Provincia di Prato--che quest'anno ...

Radio & Podcasts

The Lyricists - Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, Art Farmer (1953 - 1962)

by Russell Perry
July 9, 2019

"Musicians of a gentler, more lyrical bent ... found in hard bop a more congenial climate than bebop had offered: for instance, trumpeter Art Farmer, [and] composers Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce.... In a sense, such musicians were not hard boppers at all. They are, however, partially associated with the movement for two reasons. First, they often performed and recorded with hard boppers. Art Farmer, for example, played in Horace Silver's quintet and with saxophonists Jackie McLean and Jimmy Heath. ...

Live Review

Newport Jazz Festival 2017

by Timothy J. O'Keefe
August 18, 2017

Newport Jazz Festival Fort Adams State Park Newport, RI August 5, 2017 The soggy, gray blanket that was the Newport sky wrung itself out on the crowd that had gathered for the 2017 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management, but the good news was it only rained on the audience for about an hour. Danilo Perez's piano oozed melancholic, broken chords, while Avishai Cohen's trumpet filled loose spaces in the music with ...

Live Review

Barranquijazz Festival 2016

by Mark Holston
November 15, 2016

Barranquijazz Festival Barranquilla, Colombia September 14-18, 2016 The success of the annual Barranquijazz Festival is a tribute to its founders--all of whom are still deeply involved as the event enters its 21st year--and their vision of what and how to present to a growing community of jazz enthusiasts in Barranquilla, Colombia's fourth largest city. Samuel Minski, a successful publisher, Antonio Caballero, a radio personality, and Mingo de la Cruz, a veteran Avianca Airlines pilot, ...

New York @ Night

Benny Golson at Jazz Standard

by Peter Jurew
November 3, 2016

Benny Golson Quartet Jazz Standard New York, NY October 21, 2016 By now it's well established that you don't go to see the octogenarian Benny Golson expecting to be blown away by a titan of the tenor sax--a fact he's only too happy to confess to his audience at a packed Jazz Standard in October. Sure, Golson can still handle his sax just fine but his real mastery is--and has always been--making ...

Obituary

Benny Golson (1929-2024)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 24, 2024

Benny Golson, one of jazz's most prolific composers of sophisticated jazz standards and one of the most graceful powerhouse hard-bop tenor saxophonists, died on September 22. He was 95. Benny's long list of majestic compositions include Along Came Betty, Park Avenue Petite, Blues March, I Remember Clifford, Killer Joe, Stablemates and Whisper Not. He not only was a dynamic sideman in the 1950s but also a towering player on more than 40 leadership albums. He also co-led the Jazztet, a ...
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Recording

Backgrounder: Benny Golson and the Philadelphians

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 13, 2023

What made jazz recordings distinct from most other forms of American music were the different combinations of individuals who came together to to record. The results were often fascinating, with different musical personalities creating both contrasts and harmony as a unit and through improvisation. One such album was Benny Golson and the Philadelphians. Recorded in November and December 1958 for United Artists, the LP featured five players who hailed from Philadelphia: Benny Golson (ts), Lee Morgan (tp), Ray Bryant (p), ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Golson

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Benny Golson's birthday today!

Multitalented and internationally famous jazz legend,- a composer, arranger, lyricist, producer- and tenor saxophonist of world note, Benny Golson was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 25, 1929. Raised with an impeccable musical pedigree, Golson has played in the bands of world famous Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Earl Bostic and Art Blakey. Few jazz musicians can claim to be true innovators and even fewer can boast of a performing ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Golson

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Benny Golson's birthday today!

Music Industry

Arkadia Records, Marking Its 25th Anniversary, Reinvents Itself For The Digital Age

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
January 21, 2022

Twenty-five years after its first CD release, Arkadia Records emerges in 2022 from a long quiet spell, revitalized and recalibrated for a changing music industry. The jazz label founded and run by Bob Karcy has embraced the digital musical landscape, releasing its complete catalog on the full gamut of online streaming platforms and preparing its first releases since the 2000s—including the newly recorded debut album by Brazil’s Tetel Di Babuya, due for June 24 release. The burst of new activity ...
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Recording

The Other Side of Benny Golson

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 27, 2021

Yesterday was Benny Golson's birthday. He turned 92, and he remains one of jazz's greatest tenor saxophonists and composers. Following his graduation from Howard University, Benny played with saxophonist-singer “Bull Moose" Jackson's R&B band. In the 1950s, he also played extensively with Tadd Dameron and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers before forming the Jazztet with Art Farmer in 1959. Along the way, Benny composed dozens of songs that became jazz standards, including I Remember Clifford, Stablemates and Along Came ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Golson

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Benny Golson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Golson

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Benny Golson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Benny Golson

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2019

Performance / Tour

Jazz Legend Benny Golson To Appear At Baltimore's Jazzway 6004

Source: Jazz Beyond Borders
August 28, 2018

Internationally-acclaimed bebop/hard bop saxophonist, composer, and educator Benny Golson, who will turn 90 years old in January 2019, will appear at Baltimore’s Jazzway 6004 on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. The NEA Jazz Master and newly-inducted member of the DownBeat Hall of Fame will perform his famous tunes such as “Killer Joe,” “Whisper Not,” “I Remember Clifford,” and “Stablemates” in an intimate setting for one night only. Mr. Golson is one of only two remaining jazz greats from ...
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