Saxophonist / composer/ arranger Benny Golson died Saturday. He was 95 years old. Inspired largely by the music of pianist Tadd Dameron, Golson composed several tunes now considered standards, including “Whisper Not,” “Along Came Betty,” and “I Remember Clifford.”
With his dark, swooping sound and arpeggiated phrases, Golson’s tenor saxophone playing had a lot in common with that of Don Byas. Golson was a member of Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers at the same time that trumpeter Lee Morgan and pianist Bobby Timmons were in the band. Golson contributed three of the compositions on Blakey’s classic1958 album Moanin’, including a dramatic showcase for Blakey called “The Drum Thunder Suite.”
In 1960, Golson co-founded the Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer. The group’s debut on Chess records featured McCoy Tyner in his recorded debut and brilliant playing from trombonist Curtis Fuller. Golson’s composition “Killer Joe,” which is the album closer, was famously covered by Quincy Jones.
Like Jones, in the sixties and seventies, Golson concentrated on writing music for film and television. He contributed scores to Mannix, Ironside, Room 222, M*A*S*H, The Partridge Family and Mission: Impossible.
Golson has a cameo in the 2004 Steven Spielberg film, The Terminal. The film references Golson’s participation in the iconic A Great Day in Harlem photograph organized by Esquire Magazine’s Art Kane in 1958. He was one of the last two musicians to have survived until 2024. Sonny Rollins is now the only survivor remaining from that 1958 image.
Here’s a few Benny Golson albums to check out on youtube:
Benny Golson’s New York Scene
The Modern Touch
Groovin’ with Golson
Stockholm Sojourn
Benny Golson with the Jazztet:
Meet the Jazztet
Benny Golson with the Jazz Messengers:
Moanin’
Image: Benny Golson with former KBEM Music Director and Afternoon Cruise host, Kevin O’Connor
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