- Benny Golson
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Benny Golson
Img_capt = Photo by Ed Newman
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
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Born = birth date and age|1929|1|25Philadelphia ,Pennsylvania ,United States
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Instrument =Tenor saxophone
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Genre =Bebop Hard bop
Occupation = Saxophonist, Arranger, Composer
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Notable_instruments =Benny Golson (born
January 25 ,1929 ) is an Americanbebop /hard bop jazz tenorsaxophonist ,composer , andarranger .While in high school in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, includingJohn Coltrane ,Red Garland ,Jimmy Heath ,Percy Heath ,Philly Joe Jones , andRed Rodney . After graduating fromHoward University Golson joinedBull Moose Jackson 'srhythm and blues band;Tadd Dameron , whom Golson came to consider the most important influence on his writing, was Jackson'spianist 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 , andArt Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.Golson was working with the Lionel Hampton band at the
Apollo Theater in Harlem in 1956 when he learned thatClifford Brown , a noted and well-liked jazztrumpeter 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 thethrenody "I Remember Clifford", as a tribute to a fellow musician and friend.Golson has composed several other
jazz standard s such as "Stable Mates ", "Killer Joe ", "Whisper Not ", "Along Came Betty " or "Are You Real? ".From 1959 to 1962 Golson co-led the
Jazztet withArt 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 "The Six Million Dollar Man ". During the mid-1970s Golson returned to jazz playing and recording. In 1983 he re-organized the Jazztet.In 1995 Golson received the
NEA Jazz Masters Award of theNational Endowment for the Arts .Golson made a
cameo appearance in the 2004 movie, "The Terminal ", related to his appearance in theA 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.
Discography
* "
Benny Golson's New York Scene " (Fantasy Records, 1957)
* "The Modern Touch " (Fantasy Records, 1957)
* "The Other Side of Benny Golson " (Original Jazz Classics, 1958)
* "Groovin' With Golson " (Fantasy Records, 1959)
* "Gone With Golson " (Original Jazz Classics, 1959)
* "Gettin' With It " (Original Jazz Classics, 1959)
* "Meet the Jazztet " (Geffen, 1960)
* "Stockholm Sojourn " (Original Jazz Classics, 1964)
* "Up, Jumped. Spring " (LRC Ltd., 1990)
* "Up Jumped Benny " (Arkadia Jazz, 1997)
* "Tenor Legacy " (Arkadia Jazz, 1998)
* "Tune In Turn On To The Hippest Commercials of the Sixties " (Verve Records, 1999)
* "That's Funky " (Arkadia Jazz, 2000)
* "One Day Forever " (Arkadia Jazz, 2001)
* "Terminal 1 " (Concord Records, 2004)
* "Free " (Argo Records, 2004)
* "Turning Point " (Verve Records, 2005)
* "The Masquerade Is Over " (Azzurra Music, 2005)
* "The Many Moods of Benny Golson " (Arkadia Jazz, 2007)
* "Take A Number From 1 to 10 " (Verve Records, 2007)
* "Three Little Words " (Synergie OMG, 2007)External links
* [http://www.bennygolson.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.bobrosenbaum.com/transcripts/golson1.pdf Listening In: An Interview with Benny Golson] by Bob Rosenbaum, Los Angeles, February 1982 (PDF file)
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