A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Benny Golson (b. January 25, 1929): Legendary, iconic, and innovative musician, composer, arranger, ensemble leader, producer, and teacher
Benny Golson
is a talented composer/arranger whose tenor playing has continued to
evolve with time. After attending Howard University (1947-1950) he
worked in Philadelphia with Bull Moose Jackson's R&B band (1951) at a time when it included one of his writing influences, Tadd Dameron on piano. Golson played with Dameron for a period in 1953, followed by stints with Lionel Hampton (1953-1954), and Johnny Hodges and Earl Bostic (1954-1956). He came to prominence while with Dizzy Gillespie's globetrotting big band (1956-1958), as much for his writing as for his tenor playing (the latter was most influenced by Don Byas and Lucky Thompson). Golson wrote such standards as "I Remember Clifford" (for the late Clifford Brown), "Killer Joe," "Stablemates," "Whisper Not," "Along Came Betty," and "Blues March" during 1956-1960. His stay with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1958-1959) was significant, and during 1959-1962 he co-led the Jazztet with Art Farmer. From that point on Golson
gradually drifted away from jazz and concentrated more on working in
the studios and with orchestras including spending a couple of years in
Europe (1964-1966). When Golson returned to active playing in 1977, his tone had hardened and sounded much closer to Archie Shepp than to Don Byas. Other than an unfortunate commercial effort for Columbia in 1977, Golson has recorded consistently rewarding albums (many for Japanese labels) since that time including a reunion with Art Farmer and Curtis Fuller in a new Jazztet.
Through the years he has recorded as a leader for Contemporary,
Riverside, United Artists, New Jazz, Argo, Mercury, and Dreyfus among
others. Returning once again to the spirit of the original Jazztet, Golson released New Time, New 'Tet on Concord Records in 2009.
'I Remember Clifford,' a ballad written to commemorate his friend, trumpeter and composer Clifford Brown
Backed by bassist John Clayton, Benny Golson steps up
for a solo during the Kennedy Center's Jazz in Our Time celebration in
March 2007.
Margot Schulman
Golson Recordings:
Whisper Not
Moanin'
Blues March
Saxophone player Benny Golson played with jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey, and wrote music for the TV shows M*A*S*H and Mission Impossible.
He talks about his role in reshaping Blakey's band as well as the bit
part in a Stephen Spielberg movie that helped revitalize his career. Born
January 25, 1929, in Philadelphia, Golson was at the center of the jazz
world during the late 1950s and early '60s. While much admired as a
soloist, it is his record as a jazz composer that is almost unmatched
among living musicians, with the exception of Herbie Hancock. In
the span of just a few years, Golson wrote no fewer than eight tunes
regarded as jazz standards. They include "Killer Joe," "Along Came
Betty," "Stablemates," "Whisper Not," "Blues March," "Five Spot After
Dark," "Are You Real?" and "I Remember Clifford." The latter was a
ballad written to commemorate his friend Clifford Brown, a brilliant
trumpeter and composer who was killed at age 25 in a car accident. Golson
grew up playing tenor saxophone in regular jam sessions with a
remarkable array of other future giants of jazz. John Coltrane, Philly
Joe Jones, Red Garland, Brown and others were regulars at those
sessions.
Tenor saxophonist and
composer Benny Golson is now in his second half-century as a touring and
recording jazz artist. He began performing almost 60 years ago and
recorded his first LP as a bandleader 55 years ago, but remains as sharp
and lively as ever. Golson's visit to the
KPLU studio was marked by his wonderfully humorous storytelling, which
he wove around performances of three of his best-loved compositions:
"Along Came Betty," "Whisper Not" and "Killer Joe." Here, he's
accompanied by pianist Sharp Radway and drummer Jason Marsalis.
Set List
All compositions by Benny Golson.
"Along Came Betty"
"Killer Joe"
"Whisper Not"
Personnel
Benny Golson, tenor saxophone
Sharp Radway, piano
Jason Marsalis, drums
Credits
Abe Beeson, host; Justin Steyer, videographer and editor.
Legendary drummer Art Blakey
was a father of hard bop. He was also a father figure for generations
of young jazz musicians who came up through his band Jazz Messengers,
often moving on to become prominent figures in jazz themselves. The Jazz
Messengers, for about 35 years, spread the gospel of hard bop. Blakey
was able to maintain the group by replacing departing musicians with
fresh young talent and giving them all room to grow. Blakey's mark on
the history of jazz is indelible.
Art Farmer with Benny Golson
Killer Joe
from Meet the Jazztet
This is the original version of Benny Golson's
classic composition. He gives a short spoken description of the titular
"Killer Joe," at which point the music tells the rest of the story.
Golson, who is just about an octogenarian, remains active today. His new
CD, New Time, New 'Tet, carries on the tradition of his classic sound.
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 60 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 NBC.
Television specials for BBC in London and Copenhagen, Denmark.
Theme 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
about 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.
Honored with doctorates from William Paterson College,
Wayne, NJ and Berklee School of Music, Boston, MA, Dr. Golson has also
conducted workshops and clinics at:
Appalachian University, Boone, NC Berklee School fo Music, Boston, MA Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY Howard University, Washington, DC Julliard School of Music, New York, NY Manhattan School of Music, New York, NY New England Conservatory Paris Conservatory, Paris, France Rutgers University, New Orleans, LA Stanford University, Stanford, CA University of Denver, Denver, CO University of Idaho, Moscow, ID University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Appleton, WI William Paterson College, Wayne, NJ
Golson's musical odyssey has taken him around the world.
In 1987 he was sent by the US State Department on a cultural tour of Southeast
Asia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore. Later, Philip
Morris International sent him on an assignment to Bangkok, Thailand to
write music for the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
A live performer who consistently knocks audiences off
their feet, Benny Golson has given hundreds of performances in the USA,
Europe, South America, the Far East and Japan for decades.
Benny is also working on a major college textbook and
his autobiography
This humble musical giant continues to impress critics,
fans and fellow musicians with his prodigious contributions to the world
of jazz.
We both were two young kids, growing up in Philadelphia -
aspiring to be musicians. On one occasion, we were both in the same
band, as budding saxophonists - and thinking we were doing quite well.
But things did not work out too well for us. We were both members of a
local band called "Jimmy Johnson and His Ambassadors". Our gigs usually
took place on weekends, Friday and/or Saturday. I was still a student in
High School. Even though we were paid eight dollars for each
engagement, we felt we were moving in the right direction.
One Friday afternoon, Jimmy Johnson sent his son to
our home to tell us that our gig for that weekend had been canceled.
Since John Coltrane and I were together almost everyday, he came over to
my house as usual. We were so downhearted because the job had been
canceled. My mother saw us with long, sad faces, listening to our 78 RPM
records in the living room. She asked us what was wrong. When we told
her what had happened, she said "That's a little strange .. nobody
usually cancels an engagement that late. Tickets have been sold and all
arrangements made for the dance. I bet they're playing without you!"
John and I just couldn't believe that. We protested. John said "Oh, no
Miss Golson, they wouldn't do that!" With a look on her face, as if she
knew more than us, she said "H-u-h! If it were me, I'd go there and see
for myself". John and I looked at each other. We were out of the door in
a flash.
This place was just a few blocks away. When we got to within half a
block of the place, sure enough, we heard a big band playing.
John said "They're playing our music". I
quickly told him that every local band in Philly played the same stock
music. However, we had to be sure. We went to the door where tickets
were being sold. Next time the door opened, we peeked inside .. and lo
and behold, there was Jimmy Johnson and His Ambassadors - PLAYING
WITHOUT US.
We went back home crushed and broken hearted. As
we entered the house, John raised his head a bit and said to my mother
"You were right Miss Golson". We both stood in the middle of the living
room. I think we both wanted to cry. Seeing this and feeling sorry for
us, my mother put an arm around each of us and said, "Don't worry, baby,
one day both of you will be so good, that they won't be able to afford
you." Of course, we didn't believe her .. we'd just been quietly put out
of the band. Years later.... John Coltrane and I were playing at the
Newport Jazz Festival... he with his quartet and Art Farmer and I with
The Jazztet. Somehow, we both wound up in the same tent, warming up on
our instruments ... he on his soprano and I on my tenor. Suddenly, he
stopped playing and started laughing heartily. I looked up and said
"What!" "Remember what your mother told us," he said, "that day we were
told the gig had been canceled?". I told him yes, I remembered! While
still laughing, he said "Well, we're here, and they're still there." We
started laughing raucously together.
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 NBC Television specials for BBC in
London and Copenhagen, Denmark Theme 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. Honored
with doctorates from William Paterson College, Wayne, NJ and Berklee
School of Music, Boston, MA, Dr. Golson has also conducted workshops and
clinics at at various universities throughout the United States.
Golson's
musical odyssey has taken him around the world. In 1987 he was sent by
the US State Department on a cultural tour of Southeast Asia, New
Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore. Later, Philip Morris
International sent him on an assignment to Bangkok, Thailand to write
music for the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
A live performer who
consistently knocks audiences off their feet, Benny Golson has given
hundreds of performances in USA, Europe, South America, Far East and
Japan for decades.
Legendary
composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and tenor saxophonist Benny
Golson has helped define jazz. Wellesley welcomed Golson to campus this
weekend to celebrate both the genre and the 30th anniversary of its
inclusion in Wellesley’s music program. Golson’s visit was part of
the Wellesley College Concert Series, whose varied programs include
efforts “to feature the artists who really helped to shape the uniquely
American music we call jazz,” says Cercie Miller, senior music faculty and director of the Wellesley BlueJazz
program. “Benny Golson, is not only a virtuostic saxophonist who has
played with the ‘who’s who’ in jazz, but also one of our greatest living
composers, responsible for many classic compositions in the jazz
canon.” Golson has performed in the world-famous bands of Benny
Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lionel Hampton, among others. He has
recorded more than 30 albums and written well over 300 compositions, and
has written eight standards for jazz repertoire, more than any other
living jazz artist. He received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz
Masters Award in 1995. One needn’t be a jazz aficionado to be
familiar with Golson’s work. He has created compositions for artists
including Count Basie, Quincy Jones, Itzhak Perlman, Lou Rawls, and
Diana Ross; television shows and movies such as M*A*S*H, Mission Impossible, The Mod Squad, The Partridge Family, and Cosby; and commercials for Gillette, Heinz, Dodge, and McDonald’s. Golson began his career in jazz as a teenager in Philadelphia. As he explained in a 2003 interview with All About Jazz,
“I started out wanting to be a pianist and as I got into it, I fancied
that I wanted to be a concert pianist. That got a few chuckles in the
ghetto, you know. But at 14, I heard the saxophone and my first
influence was Arnett Cobb. I went to the theatre one day and I heard him
play Flying Home and that changed my life. Then after that, of
course, it was Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon,
and then John Coltrane and I went through the ranks together.” This
master of the medium taught a master class at Wellesley with music
students on Saturday, and later played an evening concert with fellow
international performers Ron Mahdi, Ralph Peterson, and Hey Rim Jeon—a
public performance that was booked solid as soon as reservations were
made available. “When we have the opportunity to bring a jazz
legend to our campus, we want to support a more immersive experience,”
says Miller. “Our students in Wellesley BlueJazz, our college big band
and BlueJazz combos, and our small jazz ensembles have been studying and
playing Benny Golson’s compositions all semester. Our Jazz-World Music
faculty featured new arrangements of Golson’s music in their annual
Jazz-World faculty concert this year. These activities and performances
prepared us to experience Benny Golson’s visit to our campus more
fully.” Concert Series programs remain free and open to the public
thanks to very generous donor support. This season’s Concert Series is
funded by the Marjorie Copland Baum Memorial Fund. And the celebration continues…From April 24 through the first weekend in May, the Jazz-World Music program offers Ayaman, or a call to gather, hosted in cooperation with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life Art & Soul program. Five Ayaman events
will feature Wellesley student musicians in various performances,
culminating with a performance by students and guest artists. The
week-long celebration ends in a reception honoring the Gran Moun, or “those who have come before.” All are welcome to enjoy the food, music and dance; please follow our Events pages for more information.
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bopjazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.[1] 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 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 reformed the Jazztet in 1982.
From 1959 to 1962 Golson co-led the Jazztet 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, The Partridge Family and Mission: Impossible. He also formulated and conducted arrangements to various recordings, such as Eric Is Here, a 1967 album by Eric Burdon, which features five of Golson's arrangements, conducted by Golson.[4]
During the mid-1970s Golson returned to jazz playing and recording. Critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic 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.[5] In 1982 Golson re-organized the Jazztet.[6] In 1995 Golson received the NEA Jazz Masters Award of the National Endowment for the Arts. Golson made a cameo appearance in the 2004 movie The Terminal, related to his appearance in the famed A Great Day in Harlem photo of famous jazz musicians. Main character Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks)
travels to the US from Europe to obtain Golson's signature; Golson is
one of only two surviving musicians from the photo (the other being 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 Hanks's character 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, Benny 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.
Several distinguished jazz artists have received this award.
Sixty years ago, 57 jazz musicians gathered in front of a Harlem brownstone at 17 East 126th Street,
between Fifth and Madison Avenues, for a photo shoot. Though it didn’t
seem like a big deal at the time, the resulting photograph, taken by Art
Kane and published in the January 1959 issue of Esquire, went
on to become one of the most iconic images in jazz. The shot, which
featured such legends as Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins,
Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Lester Young, and Mary Lou Williams,
captured the music at an inflection point. The next year, young
innovators like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Dave Brubeck would
record now-canonical albums that changed jazz forever.
Jazz
is often cast in terms of forward progress, each epoch neutering the
previous one — small-group bebop usurping big-band swing, for instance.
But “A Great Day in Harlem,” the subject of a recently published book
called Art Kane: Harlem 1958,
which includes several outtakes from the day, is a portrait of harmony,
old and new guard alike peaceably intermingling. The photo suggests
that jazz is as much about continuity and tradition as it is about
radical change.
Of
the dozens of musicians who showed up, only two are still alive: the
tenor saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Benny Golson. At the time, Rollins,
who had already recorded such albums as Tenor Madness, Saxophone Colossus, and Way Out West (recently reissued),
was a titan of his instrument. But Golson, who has composed some of the
most enduring tunes in jazz, including “Whisper Not,” “Stablemates,”
“Killer Joe,” “Blues March,” and “I Remember Clifford,” had yet to prove
himself, by his account. “I was the new boy in town,” he recalled.
In
a recent phone conversation, Golson, who turns 90 in January and wrote a
foreword for the book, reflected on his career in jazz, looking back on
that morning in August 1958 when he appeared at the 10 a.m. shoot —
unreasonably early by the standards of jazz musicians, who tend to keep
unreasonably late hours — to find so many of his idols in attendance.
“It was,” he said, “a small miracle.”
Tell me about the photo. How did you know to show up at the spot at 10 in the morning?
Do you remember someone named Nat Hentoff?
Of course.
During that time, he was writing for DownBeat
before he became involved with politics, and he was the one who called
me. At that time, I was the new boy in town, and I just thought it was
another photograph — go up there, click, and that was it. But when I got
up there, I saw all of my heroes, and then I wondered, Why in the heck am I here? Nobody really knows who I am.
When I got there, most everybody who was supposed to be there was
there, but the problem was, as Art [Kane] was trying to get everybody
together collectively, there was a bar on the corner, and he had a hard
time getting everyone back from the bar at the same time. Art was such a
patient guy, he was trying to get that all together. It took over an
hour to get that picture. And when we finally took the final shot, Willie “the Lion” Smith was in the bar — he didn’t make the shot.
Wasn’t it a little early to be drinking?
Well, it seems like this was a special occasion and they wanted to augment it a little bit.
Where did you live at the time?
Where
I lived at the moment was 55 West 92nd Street. I was on the fourth
floor and Quincy [Jones] was on the sixth floor. We were in the same
building, but somehow he wasn’t called or he didn’t make it. Something
happened, and he wasn’t in the photograph. In fact, there were a lot of
people who weren’t in the photograph. But you know, a lot of people were
working: John Coltrane, Miles, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman. Buddy Rich
should have been there. Greatest drummer I ever heard in my life. I’m
not talking about his style. His technique — nobody could touch that
man. I’m telling you, no drummer that you ever speak of — Max Roach,
Kenny Clarke, Gene Krupa. No way. He was in a space by himself, and I
don’t know if people realize that.
That’s interesting that you should say that because he seems to be sort of excluded from the pantheon.
That’s their mistake. But his personality was horrible.
You mentioned that you didn’t feel like you belonged in the company of some of the other sort of legendary musicians.
Right, I hadn’t really proven myself by then. Most of the guys there, I knew who they were, but I didn’t know
them. Who did I know? I knew Dizzy Gillespie because I was with his
band. I knew Gigi Gryce — a couple of months after that picture was
taken, he was the best man at my wedding. I knew Art Farmer, who is
standing beside me, and I knew Art Blakey, and I knew Sonny Rollins. The
other people I didn’t really know. Of course, as time went by, I got to
know most of them, but initially, I was the new boy in town. I tell my
audiences, a situation like that, I could have appeared there nude and
nobody would have paid any attention to me.
I feel like you’re selling yourself short. By the time this photo was taken, you had already written “Whisper Not,” and you’d also put out a few records under your own name.
Well, what really got me started was when Miles Davis record “Stablemates”
[in 1955]. Before that, I’m embarrassed when I look back. I would meet
people and give them a lead sheet. Nothing ever happened. But when John
Coltrane left to join Miles, I saw him one week later on Columbia
Avenue, the street in North Philadelphia where John and I lived — I
lived on 17th Street; he lived on 12th Street. I asked him how it was
going with Miles because I knew he had to come abreast with the
repertoire, and he said it was going good. Then he added, “But Miles
needs some tunes, do you have any?” Are you kidding? I had written this
oddball tune called “Stablemates.” John took it with him, and I didn’t
think any more of it because nobody was recording anything of mine.
James Moody recorded the very first thing, and it didn’t get much
attention. Then I ran into John about a month later, and he said “Guess
what?” I said, “What, he do that tune I gave you?” He said, “Yeah, we
recorded it!” I said, “What? Miles recorded my tune?” He said,
“Yeah, Miles dug it.” And when I saw Miles, Miles said to me, “What were
you smokin’ when you wrote that?”
Miles is also sorely missing from that photo, of course.
And
Red Garland, who was from Philadelphia. He wasn’t in the picture, but I
assume if he were in town he would have been. But then, like I said,
lots of others weren’t there. And we never knew. What do you do when you
get a magazine and you finish reading it? The one that had the
photograph in it, with the picture, I threw it in the trash, like we
always do. And then it started to gain fame. Those who were still alive,
we couldn’t believe it. When I signed with Columbia Records, Bruce
Lundvall, he had the picture, and I lamented to him, “Ah, I had that
picture, and I threw that magazine away!” I went back to Philadelphia — I
was just about to sign with the label — and a couple of weeks later,
the doorbell rang and it was somebody with a big package; he’d sent me a
big-size copy of that picture, which is still in my house in Los
Angeles. That picture really became iconic, and then ones, twos, threes,
everybody started to depart, and then we finally wound up with Sonny
Rollins and me.
Do you walk by the spot at all?
Never, never, never; it’s out of my territory. It’s up on 126th Street on the East Side. I never go on the East Side for anything.Not that I try to avoid it. What I do never takes me there. So that’s the way it is.
It seems like you’re in pretty good shape.
You
know, this January, I’ll be 90 years old. Now, I tell my audiences,
it’s a good thing I chose music because I’m still playing. It’s a good
thing I wasn’t a quarterback. Who’s ever heard of an 89-year-old
quarterback? So I’m still functional. I still do what is in my heart to
do. I’m still able to play, nothing wrong with my mind and my fingers.
[When] I play my solo now, there’s a chair right by the piano. I sit
down, but I’m still playing. Of course, Sonny will never play again. Tragic.
What are you working on lately, anything new?
Nothing
new. What has happened to me now, after being married 60 years — my
wife has Alzheimer’s, and my life is not the same, not the same. She
doesn’t know who my daughter is. Sometimes she knows who I am. Sometimes
she’ll ask me where do I live. It’s funny and tragic at the same time.
That’s a good way to look at it.
So
I don’t want to be away. We had a place in Germany for years — I had to
give it up, sell the car, give the piano away, because I can’t be in
Germany during the summer, because she’s here in a nursing home. So we
gave it up. And I want to be here as much as I can. I don’t want to be
gone too long. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to take me away
too long. Yet I have to work; I’m not rich! So my life is quite
different. Sometimes I feel like just lying down and crying.
So you’re mostly performing now?
No,
I also do master classes. I’ve been up to Hartford and Stanford and
throughout Europe and different colleges. They want me because I’m old
and I have lots of information. I’ve seen it all, Matt.
That’s
true, but it’s interesting that you’re both tenor saxophonists and
you’ve both written such enduring tunes. I feel like it’s not often the
case that tenor sax players are composers.
He’s of the same ilk, absolutely. He’s still playing, and he sounds great.
A
lot of the tunes that you wrote were very memorable, melodically
speaking, but I don’t hear that as much in jazz nowadays. Do you think
there’s less of an emphasis on melody in modern jazz?
Not as
much melody as there used to be. Some of the tunes sometimes sound
athletic, you know? The memorable thing — you know, I love writing
ballads, but there’s no real room for ballads anymore (like Peggy Lee,
Diana Ross, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé, Ella Fitzgerald), that’s kind of
gone by the wayside a bit.
Photo: Art Kane
In 2004, you were featured in the Steven Spielberg film The Terminal, with Tom Hanks. Do you keep in touch with him?
I
hear from Tom all the time, not so much from Steve. His wife, Rita,
she’s a singer. They’re both sweethearts. But they’re ordinary just like
you and me. So is Steven.
Did that movie bring new listeners to your work?
They
had a little gathering out there in Hollywood once, Dick Van Dyke was
there. Incredible. This music has been fantastic for me. I love it. And
you know, years ago, I used to be a truck driver before I really got
started professionally. The first job I had, I used to deliver
furniture. And then I got another job where I became an expert at
hanging these big mirrors. I could put up a mirror in 20 minutes. I
hated both of the jobs. And when I went in and told ’em I wouldn’t be
coming back, they all asked me what I was gonna be doing. I said, “I’m
gonna be a jazz musician.” And they all started to laugh. But I never
went back. And there’s nothing wrong with those kinds of jobs, there’s
nothing wrong with hard work, but I tell you, and I tell my audiences,
being a musician is so much better than being a truck driver.
I don’t think anyone would disagree with that.
Nothing
wrong with it at all, and I appreciated the money, but I hated every
moment of it. I watched the clock from 8 o’clock till 5 o’clock, every
day.
I don’t blame you.
And
here I am at the end of my career. We’ve got so many young ones, and
I’m inspired when I see what they’re doing. They’re doing it much
faster. When I was coming up, you couldn’t go to college and get a
diploma for jazz. When I went to college, I was told that if I was
caught having anything to do with jazz, I would be expelled from the
college. I was playing in Washington, D.C., and I used to sneak over the
wall at night in the back, after having played the gig, and I went to
work one night, went up on the bandstand, and I turned around and at the
first table there was the head of the theory department. And when I
finished playing, what I was expecting was, “See me in my office
tomorrow at 9 o’clock,” but he said to me instead, “Great set,” and
nothing else was ever said.
I’m
wondering a little more about the photo because you’re standing behind
Art Blakey. The shot was taken in August 1958, and then two months
later, you recorded “Moanin’” with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. It’s one of the canonical albums released in 1959, along with Kind of Blue, Time Out, The Shape of Jazz to Come, Mingus Ah Um, Giant Steps …
That almost didn’t happen, and “Moanin’”
almost didn’t happen. During breaks, sometimes Bobby [Timmons] would
have a little thing he’d play, just a little lick, nobody really played
any attention to it. But as time went by, we were getting ready to
record. I thought about that, and I said, he’s got eight bars there, but
he doesn’t have a bridge. I called a rehearsal, and I said, “Bobby, you
know that little thing you play? You’ve got a potential tune there.
We’re gonna sit here and make up an eight-bar bridge.” He said, “Oh,
this is nothing.” I said, “Bobby, it’s got great potential, try to put a
bridge to it.” And so he did. In about a half-hour, he had something
together, and he played it for me. I said, “Bobby, no, you don’t have
the same feeling as the original lick.” He said, “You write it.” I said,
“No, Bobby, this has gotta be your tune. Try again.” And so in 15
minutes, he had a bridge, and he played it for me, and I said, “That’s
it.” I said, “What are you gonna call it? What does it make you think
about?” He said, “Maybe ‘Moanin’’?” I said, “Okay, call it ‘Moanin’.’” I
said, “We’re going to play it tonight, and the audience is going to
tell us what they think of it.”
I
had just come in to the band, and Art wasn’t making that much money.
There were so many things wrong, and I talked to him sometimes. One of
our conversations during the break was, “Art, the way you play those
drums, you should be a millionaire.” And when I mentioned the word millionaire,
his eyes widened. And he said to me, “What do I do?” And I had the
nerve to tell him, “Do everything I tell you to do.” And he said, “What
do I do?” I said, “Get a new band.” He said, “All right, tell them
they’re fired.” I said, “I can’t tell them they’re fired.” I had just
come into the band, but eventually it did happen, and it’s terrible
because I knew all the guys, but the guys were going to sleep on the
bandstand and nodding and all kinds of crazy stuff.
And
during all that time, everybody was listening to what I was saying. I
said to Alfred Lion at Blue Note, “I have a photograph here, Alfred,
that one of the fans took of Art. It’s a head shot. I’d like that head
shot on the cover.” And they did everything I was telling ‘em to do. Up
to this day, I can’t believe it. Incredible!
Sounds like it was more your band than Art Blakey’s at the time.
At the time, yeah, because I would get the money, and I would pay the men.
In Jean Bach’s documentary about the photo, A Great Day in Harlem,
Marian McPartland says something early on that sort of struck me as
insightful. She wonders aloud what it would have sounded like if every
musician had brought his or her instrument to the shoot and everyone had
played. What do you think that would have sounded like?
That never crossed my mind. That would have been something. How about that. We’d have had somebody from every instrument — piano, bass, trumpet, trombone. My goodness! Hmm. That never crossed my mind.
At 90, jazz great Benny Golson returns to Minnesota: 'I feel maybe 45 or 50'
One of the last greats of his generation, jazz master Benny Golson
talks about Coltrane, Spielberg and "A Great Day in Harlem" as he heads
to Minnesota.
Antonio Porcar Cano.At 90, jazzman Benny Golson continues to keep a busy schedule: “The rent man likes for me to work.”
Benny Golson,
jazz’s Renaissance man, had been courted by big-name film directors
before. They’d say they wanted him for a part, then it turned out to be a
cattle-call audition.
So when
Steven Spielberg reached out to Golson for his 2004 movie “The
Terminal,” the instant response was no. A second phone call, however,
convinced the acclaimed saxophonist/composer that this film would be
different.
“I asked
him: ‘Why did you pick me?’ He said, ‘When I was at college [Long Beach
State], I used to come and hear you play.’ Wow.”
Also, Golson was being asked to portray himself.
In “The Terminal,”
Tom Hanks plays an immigrant stuck at JFK Airport who is trying to
score the final autograph — Golson’s — of 57 jazz stars who gathered for
a legendary photo now known as “A Great Day in Harlem.”
Only two of those musicians are still alive.
Golson’s 1½-minute cameo in the 2004 Spielberg film “didn’t change anything,” said the saxman, who performs this week at Crooners in Fridley. “The money didn’t increase. I didn’t become a superstar or anything like that. It did introduce me to some younger audiences.”
While “The Terminal” may
not have changed his life, that photograph remains a cornerstone in his
career, as well as the subject of a 1994 Oscar-nominated documentary.
“I remember everything about it,” said Golson, who at 90 is sharper than any tool in your shed.
Esquire
magazine gathered the jazz stars one morning in August 1958 for a
portrait outside a Manhattan brownstone. Golson stands at the top of the
steps, behind drummer Art Blakey, with dozens of his heroes at his
feet: Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Lester Young,
Thelonious Monk.
The only other one left is saxophone giant Sonny Rollins, who no longer performs because of pulmonary fibrosis.
I was the least known of anybody,” Golson said. “I’d just come to town.”
Golson had been invited by noted critic Nat Hentoff. Photo call was at 10 a.m. in, of course, suit and tie.
“We didn’t
[usually] get up that early,” he remembered. “In those days, when we
played Birdland [a Manhattan jazz spot] it was from 10 at night till 4
in the morning.
“We were late dwellers. We were the night roamers.”
Best buds with Coltrane
Recognized as a Jazz
Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, Golson is modest about
his inclusion in the famous portrait. But by 1958 he’d already made his
mark as a performer — with Gillespie and Lionel Hampton, among others —
and as a bandleader and composer, too.
Miles
Davis recorded his song “Stablemates” in 1955, the first in a string of
jazz standards penned by Golson, including “Whisper Not,” “Along Came
Betty” and “Killer Joe.”
As a youth inPhiladelphia, Golson palled around with another soon to be famous saxophonist, John Coltrane.
“We grew
up as teenagers together. We practiced in my living room together,” said
Golson, who started piano at 9 and took up the sax at 14.
“We were
in the same band. We got hired together, we got fired together. When we
went on the road with somebody, we slept in the same beds trying to save
money. We were like brothers.”
He remembers the powerhouse innovator as “quiet, reserved and full of talent.
“We didn’t
have any idea about the future. We didn’t have any idea of where it was
that we wanted to go. But we wanted to get there as soon as possible.
“We
weren’t concerned about being famous. We wanted to learn how to play the
instruments, and we weren’t concerned about making a lot of money. We
wanted to engage ourselves in the music.”
After
graduating from Howard University, Golson gigged with various jazz
luminaries, then launched a band called the Jazztet, featuring
Coltrane’s future pianist McCoy Tyner. But his career soon took a
different direction.
In the
early ’60s, the saxophonist/composer headed to Hollywood to write music
for TV and films. His credits included such popular series as “Mannix,”
“Mission: Impossible,” “Mod Squad” and “M*A*S*H.”
It was hardly glamorous
work, he said. “My wife and my daughter would go off to Santa Monica
Beach and I’m like a hunchback in the studio, writing, writing till
midnight, getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning.
“Oh, man,
the pressure was always on. There were no holidays. And there was
nothing like telling the studio ‘I’m not ready.’ Because then you’re
finished.”
‘I feel maybe 45 or 50’
That grind
is far behind him now, but Golson remains active. He has 10 gigs this
month and will perform in 12 countries this summer, including two trips
to Japan.
“The rent
man likes for me to work,” he said from his hotel room in Seattle, where
he played earlier this month. “I’m a musician. I can still play, and I
want to play.”
Moreover, he has the spirit of a younger man.
“I feel about maybe 45 or 50,” he said. “Let’s be glad I didn’t pick soccer or football. There are no 90-year-old quarterbacks.”
No
outlier, he proudly rattled off the names of other jazz figures still
active in their 90s, including composer/arranger Johnny Mandel,
saxophonist Jimmy Heath and singer Tony Bennett.
Quipped Golson: “Last time I saw Tony, I said, ‘What are you doing — taking youth pills?’ ”
In concert, he is known for sharing back stories about his songs. One of his best-known ballads, “I Remember Clifford,” came to him after his friend, trumpeter Clifford Brown, was killed in an auto accident at age 25.
“Some people tell me they like the stories as much as they do the music,” he said.
The titles
of his songs come “from things in my life or things I dream of,” he
explained. “Titles are very important to me. I don’t just come up with
the name. Except ‘Whisper Not.’ Which doesn’t really mean anything. I just liked the sound of those two words.”
Golson has taught master classes for years, and has been working on a textbook for jazz musicians.
“It’s
somewhere in my computer,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever finish
it. It’s hard for me to set time aside. There’s so much pulling on me.
Every day I get requests for interviews and for teaching from all over
the world.”
The desire to learn still motivates him.
“Even now
at 90, I don’t know everything there is to know. So when I teach master
classes, sometimes the teacher learns from the kids. That’s the way it
is. That’s the way it should be. Like Sonny Rollins said to me once:
‘There’s no end to this music.’ ”
Jon Bream
has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the
longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended
more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led
Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’
suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.
UMSL Jazz Combo members (from left) Ethan Saake, Trae Riley, Mike Owens,
Nick Brothers, Dietrich Plyler and Nick Ayala as well as jazz pianist
Sharp Radway (far right) listen to tales from behind the music of jazz
legend Benny Golson. (Photos by August Jennewein)
The pressure couldn’t have been higher for the University of Missouri–St. Louis Jazz Combo as the group started their rendition of the jazz standard “Blues March” last Monday in the Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. First came the song’s trademark drum solo, inspired by the marching band of Grambling State University and written for Art Blakey by jazz composer and musician Benny Golson. Then the saxophonists, guitar and piano came in and carried the song for about six more minutes. When it was all over, the combo turned expectantly to stage left where a 90-year-old legend sat observing them. “I’m here today to see what I can learn,” Golson said. “It sounds
like a joke, but it’s not a joke. As I heard you play, I went back to
the days when I was standing where you are now. I didn’t sound this
good.” Thanks to a collaboration with the education arm of Jazz St. Louis,
Golson was at UMSL to give the combo a clinic that quickly turned into
an hour of advice and storytelling. Also in attendance was pianist Sharp Radway,
approximately 20 North County high school students and the event
organizers, UMSL Director of Jazz Studies Adaron Johnson and Jazz St.
Louis Director of Education Andy Ament. Golson played with and wrote for the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, John Coltrane
and numerous others. In addition to writing many of the now-standards,
he’s received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters
Fellowship, the Mellon Living Legend Legacy Award and the Jazz
Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the
International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame in 2009. For the musicians and audience alike, the thrill of having one of the
last remaining jazz greats in house could not be overstated. “It’s a dream come true,” saxophonist Nick Brothers said. “Benny
Golson is one of my jazz heroes, and just being in the same room with
him, let alone getting to play for him, is awesome. It’s really an
amazing opportunity.” Brothers took the opportunity to ask about the history of some of his
favorite songs, such as Golson’s “Stablemates,” titled for a bar,
Stables, in Boston. “If I tell you the story behind “Stable,” you’ll never believe it,” Golson said. “Do you want to hear it?” Golson told the crowd how he’d started writing the tune during the
half-an-hour break between sets in order to avoid his then-wife, with
whom he was in the middle of a divorce. “I pretended that I had a commission that was so important that I
couldn’t leave the bandstand,” he said, explaining that he’d temporarily
titled the composition ‘Weird Tune” because of its unusual structure. Golson intended to return and fix the musical mutant but never got
around to it. Shortly afterward, he ran into John Coltrane, who asked
for songs for Miles Davis. “John took this to Miles, and I never thought about anything ’cause
nobody’d ever recorded anything of mine,” Golson recalled. “And I saw
him about a month later, and he didn’t even say hello. He said, ‘You
know that tune you gave me?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘We recorded it.’ I
said, ‘What? Miles recording my tune!’ He said, ‘Yeah, he dug it.’ I
was levitating. And when I saw Miles, Miles said to me, ‘What were you
smoking when you wrote that?’
“Well, I was smoking nothing. But that’s what got me started as a
jazz composer. All those tunes I’d been passing out that people are
throwing in the trash, under the rug – when they saw ‘Stablemates’ and
saw ‘Benny Golson’ underneath and – ‘Wait a minute – Benny Golson –
that’s the guy that gave me –.’ They started looking for the tunes. They
started recording my stuff. Miles Davis put me on the map, and I owe it
to my friend, John Coltrane, who took the tune. Oh, we laughed about
that. We laughed about that quite a bit as the years went by. I don’t
know what would have happened had Miles not gotten that tune.”
The afternoon opened with the UMSL Jazz Combo performing Benny Golson’s “Blues March.”
He spoke about “Blues March,” where the title “Killer Joe” came from,
the most memorable musician he ever played with – Blakey – and how,
after hearing Arnett Cobb
on the radio as a boy, Golson became interested in the saxophone. He
disappointed his mother, who’d hoped he would become a church organist. Golson also shared his perspective on the industry and other advice
with the students. He spoke about the importance of teachers, noting
that music is as much about learning as performing. He also talked about
changes in the industry and songwriting as inevitable and parallel to
the nature of jazz. He closed out the afternoon by giving out one last piece of wisdom. “Never think too much of yourself,” he said. “There’s always somebody
somewhere else that can do it just a little better. And never think you
know everything. Nobody on this earth knows everything. I’m still
learning. And when I came in and said I came in to learn something from
the students, that’s not always a joke. Sometimes I learned things from
the students. Why? Because I’m an old man. And they’re young, fresh
ideas, new ways to do things. That’s what makes this business of music
such an adventure. And it should always be an adventure.”
" One of the greatest artists our country has is Benny Golson.
He is not only a great musician, but an original and fabulous composer.
He is inventive and creative and his work is loved the world over.
Benny is a rare, creative genius. All I would like to say is THREE
CHEERS for Benny Golson!"—Tony Bennett
“ Composer supreme, tenor man supreme, jazz man supreme, good guy supreme: that’s BENNY GOLSON!" —Sonny Rollins
Born during the de facto inaugural era of jazz, saxophonist Benny Golson
learned his instrument and the vocabulary of jazz alongside John
Coltrane while Golson was still in high school in Philadelphia. Quickly
establishing himself as an iconic fixture on the jazz landscape, Golson
performed with dozens of jazz greats, from Sonny Rollins, Coleman
Hawkins, and Jimmy Heath to Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and many
others. An acclaimed composer, Golson also wrote music for Hollywood
films and television and composed such memorable jazz standards as
“Stablemates,” “Killer Joe,” and “Whisper Not.”
An eloquent account of Golson’s exceptional life—presented episodically rather than chronologically— Whisper Not includes
a dazzling collection of anecdotes, memories, experiences, and
photographs that recount the successes, the inevitable failures, and the
rewards of a life eternally dedicated to jazz.
Reviews
" Benny is a dear friend who has always been one of my
favorite composers and saxophonists. His creativity is absolutely top
level. I had no idea of the many spectacularly interesting and moving
incidents in Benny’s life. Eloquently written, Whisper Not
reads as though Benny is speaking directly to you (another of his many
hidden talents). Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. I highly
recommend it."
—Herbie Hancock
"Like his finest compositions, Benny Golson’s
autobiography is instantly engaging and enchants to the end. He and his
collaborator, Jim Merod, have found an original way to tell the story of
a long and fulfilling life, creating a tapestry of recollection,
insight, and understanding of the human and artistic aspects of the
music—or simply said, one of the best books on the subject of jazz."
—Dan Morgenstern, Director Emeritus of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies and author of Living with Jazz
"Having known Benny Golson since the mid-1960s, I can say
that this autobiography, written in collaboration with Jim Merod, really
captures the essence of Benny Golson the man and Benny Golson the
musician and composer. Although Benny predates me by some fifteen years,
I spent my teen years playing at some of the same spots on Columbia
Avenue in Philly. For me, Whisper Not combines a walk down
memory lane with a history lesson to bring to life the enduring
friendships and bonds created during Benny Golson’s formative years.
Well done, Jim Merod, for telling the story so expertly; well done,
Benny Golson, for having lived your story so fully. This is a GREAT
BOOK!"
—Kenny Barron, The Juilliard School
"Jazz musicians have long known that Benny Golson is not
only a marvelous saxophonist and composer but also an eloquent and witty
raconteur. Now, with Whisper Not, the world can enjoy his
verbal gift as he reminisces about John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Chick
Corea, and the many other greats he has counted among his colleagues. As
a special bonus—referencing some of his most-recorded works—he even provides some insider tips on composing. This book is a must-read for all music fans and musicians!"
—Lewis Porter, Pianist and Professor of Music at Rutgers University–Newark
"That 87-year old Benny Golson is a figure of consequence
in the music is indisputable. He has form as both player and composer,
initially of original pieces that have become jazz standards and, more
latterly, as a gilded soundtrack composer for films and TV. So, his is a
story worth the telling and long overdue for the telling, you could
say.... (H)is three opening chapters recounting his boyhood friendship
in Philadelphia with John Coltrane and their emerging interest in the
music are fascinating, each youngster's first tentative steps into
bandstand activity vividly described, his virtual hero-worship of the
young Coltrane quite touching....Golson (is) often disarmingly frank
about his instrumental shortcomings.... Excellent illustrations by the
way."
--Jazzwise
"(Golson's) account of an extraordinary career beginning in
1940s Philadelphia and ending in recognition as one of the music's most
respected and influential composers, arrangers and instrumentalists....
(T)he book does indeed contain numerous nuggets of great good sense on
subjects such as ballads...racism...and artistic development.... (I)ts
best-written and most interesting account...(is his)...relationship with
Coltrane, and fascinatingly details Golson’s growing appreciation of
jazz via exposure to the bebop experiments taking place.... Whisper Not is
good, it is very good – thoughtful, eloquent, nuanced – and anyone
interested in jazz in its heyday will be fascinated and gripped by much
of what Golson has to say."—London JazzNews
"An eloquent account of Golson's exceptional life." —Susquehanna Life
"(Whisper Not) will entrance the reader with
picturesque clarity.... Golson offers...insightful reflections on a host
of...jazz luminaries such as Art Blakey, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and
Thelonious Monk."
—Downbeat
"The book certainly contains plenty of stories that shed
light on the many noteworthy figures from the world of jazz with whom
Golson interacted over the decades.... Golson has an appealing
storytelling style."
—Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Journal
"It's no surprise that Whisper Not is an engaging
tome as its author is one of the most eloquently loquacious musicians
ever to grace a bandstand. It triumphs not only as a revealing account
of an exceptional life and illuminating addition to jazz biography but
also as a very well written literary work.... (W)hile he touches on
personal issues, such as love, marriage, fatherhood and religion, it is
his life in music that makes the book a most memorable story."
—New York City Jazz Record
"An honest portrayal of one of the twentieth century's most
significant jazz figures, the personality behind the music, with
Merod's significant input, is sympathetically revealed, making Whisper Not
essential reading for Golson fans. If the book has a message as such,
it's that unrelenting dedication to one's art, focus, determination and a
willingness to take risks are the cornerstones of success." —All About Jazz
"This is not a usual autobiography... The text is clean and
readily accessible as a Golson melody and a photo album includes a
number of memorable images. Golson is such a positive person, and that
is conveyed throughout his graceful telling of his story. This is an
important addition to the body of jazz biographies and autobiographies."
—In a Blue Mood blog
Whisper Not is deeply complimentary of these and a
plethora of jazz greats and personalities who've touched Benny Golson's
life... This is a warmly enjoyable, humor-laced jazz memoir that
thoroughly eschews any sense of linear approach, and in this case that's
not a bad thing." —Open Sky Jazz
Table of Contents
Preface by Jim Merod
Introduction
Part I John Coltrane Chapter 1. One of a Kind: John Coltrane
Chapter 2. John and I Meet Diz and Bird
Chapter 3. John Becomes a Dynamo Part II The ’Hood and Youthful Reckonings Chapter 4. Uncle Robert and the Man
Chapter 5. Two Heroes and a Night at Minton's
Chapter 6. Early Tragedies and Victories
Chapter 7. Welfare Days, Hard Times
Part III Great People Chapter 8. No One Else: Bobbie Hurd
Chapter 9. Moose and Bostic
Chapter 10. Art Blakey's Neophytes and Tadd Dameron's Luck
Chapter 11. Further Adventures with Tadd and an Evening with Louis Armstrong
Chapter 12. The Duel: Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro
Chapter 13. Wonder and Beauty: Betty Carter and Art Farmer
Chapter 14. Genius Squared: Jimmy and Percy Heath
Chapter 15. Unrivaled Aces: Sarah Vaughan and Bill Evans
Chapter 16. Four "Brothers": Mulgrew Miller, Woody Herman, Henry Brant, and George Russell Part IV Hollywood Chapter 17. Starting Over
Chapter 18. Gettin' My Mojo Workin'
Chapter 19. M*A*S*H Chapter 20. Movie Stars Like Jazz, Too Part V Amazing Friendships Chapter 21. Quincy Jones
Chapter 22. Sweets and Diz
Chapter 23. Philly Joe Jones
Chapter 24. Monk, Max, and Dinah
Chapter 25. Curtis Fuller and The Jazztet Part VI Music and Writing
Chapter 26. Writing
Chapter 27. Lessons
Chapter 28. "Stablemates": My First Recorded Song
Chapter 29. "Along Came Betty"
Chapter 30. "I Remember Clifford"
Chapter 31. The Ballad and "Weight" Part VII Icons Chapter 32. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks
Chapter 33. Duke and Strayhorn
Chapter 34. Coleman Hawkins
Chapter 35. Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk
Chapter 36. Blakey and The Jazz Messengers
Chapter 37. Kenny Dorham and Lee Morgan
Chapter 38. Sonny Rollins
Chapter 39. Great Performances: Oscar Pettiford, Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, Billy Taylor, and Walter Davis, Jr.
Chapter 40. Charles Mingus, Benny Goodman, Gigi Gryce, and Horace Silver
Chapter 41. Peggy Lee and Diana Ross
Chapter 42. Milt "Bags" Jackson, Larry Young, Joe Farrell, and Tony Williams
Chapter 43. Wynton Kelly and Chick Corea
Chapter 44. Miles Davis and Geoffrey Keezer
Chapter 45. Mickey Rooney, Redd Foxx, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Muhammad Ali Part VIII Verses and a Coda Chapter 46. Notes on Starting Over
Chapter 47. The Blues
Chapter 48. Brielle
Coda: A New Way of Life Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors:
Benny Golson is an NEA Jazz Master, composer,
arranger, and saxophonist. After helping Art Blakey revamp his regime
with The Jazz Messengers, he co-founded The Jazztet with trumpeter Art
Farmer. He has composed not only jazz standards, including “Killer Joe”
and “Along Came Betty,” but also music for films and television,
including It Takes a Thief and M*A*S*H.
Jim Merod has recorded a veritable "who's who" of
jazz greats under his BluePort Jazz label. He is a Professor of
Literature and Humanities at Soka University, who has also taught at
Cornell, Brown, Brandeis, Stanford, and UCLA. He is the author of The Political Responsibility of the Critic and the editor of Jazz as a Cultural Archive, a special issue of the journal boundary 2.
It took ten years to write Whisper Not, The Autobiography of Benny Golson, by tenor saxophonist and composer Benny Golson and his longtime friend, writer Jim Merod. Walking down the “corridor of life” Golson says, there are surprises, some delightful, and some not. Last
year during an interview with WRTI's Meridee Duddleston, Golson's
attitude was: What’s next? "When you create things that have no prior
existence it’s like giving birth, and I’m always in that waiting room
waiting to see if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Benny Golson's 2016 autobiography about his extraordinary life in jazz.
From
Philadelphia, Golson knew and played with John Coltrane, going on to
work with many of the greats of jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron,
Lionel Hampton, Art Farmer, Benny Goodman, Art Blakey, and many more.
After writing standards such as “Whisper Not,” “Blues March,” “Killer
Joe,” and his memorial to Clifford Brown, “I Remember Clifford,” he
worked in television for a time, scoring shows such as Room 222, M*A*S*H, Ironside, The Partridge Family, and Mission: Impossible. But
playing is his lifeblood, and he continues touring, collaborating with
some of the finest artists of today and encouraging the stars of
tomorrow. In Art Kane’s Esquire magazine photograph A Great Day in Harlem, taken in 1958, Golson stands top row, left. He and Sonny Rollins are the only surviving musicians from that picture. Benny
Golson is the recipient of the Mellon Living Legacy Award, an NEA Jazz
Masters Award, and the International Academy of Jazz Outstanding
Lifetime Achievement Award. His alma mater Howard University created the
Benny Golson Jazz Master Award in 1996. This master jazz
saxophonist, who turned 88 on January 25th, will be in Europe on tour
from March 29th until April 11th with the Benny Golson Quartet featuring
Italian jazz pianist Antonio Faraò. Tour stops include performances in
Munich, Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, and London.
Radio script:
From Philadelphia to New York
to Hollywood and beyond, Benny Golson looks back and ahead at his
extraordinary life in jazz. WRTI’s Meridee Duddleston has more.
MUSIC: Benny Golson, “Whisper Not” from New Time, New 'Tet
Meridee Duddleston:
Saxophonist and composer Benny Golson was a teenager living on Page
Street in North Philadelphia in the ‘40s when he and good friend John Coltrane were kicked out of a big band. Stung by rejection, they went back to Golson’s house, and Golson’s mother walked in.
Benny Golson:
And we were standing in my living room and I wanted to cry so bad, and I
know he wanted to cry, but we were too hip to cry in front of each
other. She put her arms around both of us. She says, ‘One day, they
won’t have enough money to pay you two.’
MD: Jump ahead a decade to the Newport Jazz Festival, 1957. Golson and trumpeter Art Farmer
had just formed his “Jazztet” and done Golson’s famous tune “Killer
Joe.” Coltrane was coming off his recording of “My Favorite Things.” The
two buddies found themselves in the same tent warming up. BG: He
took the horn out of his mouth and started laughing, and I said, ‘What?
What is it?’ “Remember what your mother said about how we would be so
good they wouldn’t have enough money to afford us?” he said. “Well,
we’re in Newport, and they’re still in Philadelphia.”
MD:
Golson has never stopped. His place in the jazz world is secure. He’s
performed the world and composed for television and film. His ability
and web of experience has put him in the White House and on Steven
Spielberg’s set. “Whisper Not” a Golson jazz standard, is the name of
his honest autobiography, a life story that first started taking shape
on Page Street.
THE
MUSIC OF BENNY GOLSON: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF
RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS
WITHBENNY GOLSON:
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
![Cover for Moanin' [Blue Note Bonus Track]](https://media.npr.org/music/takefive/2009/01/blakey200-c507457137be10ad198b9fb1b34b8eb4ef2a3c5b-s300-c85.jpg)
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.
From 1959 to 1962 Golson co-led the Jazztet 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, The Partridge Family and Mission: Impossible. He also formulated and conducted arrangements to various recordings, such as Eric Is Here, a 1967 album by Eric Burdon, which features five of Golson's arrangements, conducted by Golson.[4]
Antonio Porcar Cano. At 90, jazzman Benny Golson continues to keep a busy schedule: “The rent man likes for me to work.”
The pressure couldn’t have been higher for the University of Missouri–St. Louis Jazz Combo as the group started their rendition of the jazz standard “Blues March” last Monday in the Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.
Benny Golson 
