Benny Golson

Along with Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, the prolific Benny Golson created some of the most memorable compositions in the jazz repertoire. This reissue features his first albums as a leader, and many of his most familiar originals are to be found here. In a 1958 Downbeat article Ralph Gleason highlighted “the extraordinary attention jazz musicians are currently paying to his compositions”. Indeed by the early 60s it seemed that every rehearsal band in the UK and everyone on the jazz club circuit had at least three or four of his originals in the book…

The Jazztet had been in existence for two years when they recorded what would be their final LPs, Here and Now and Another Git Together. The personnel, other than the two co-leaders, flugelhornist Art Farmer and tenor-saxophonist Benny Golson, had completely changed since 1960 but the group sound was the same. The 1962 version of the Jazztet included trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Roy McCurdy. It is remarkable to think that this talent-filled group wasn't, for some reason, snapped up to record even more albums together. Highlights of their excellent out-of-print LP include Ray Bryant's "Tonk," "Whisper Not," "Just in Time," and Thelonious Monk's "Ruby My Dear." A classic if short-lived hard bop group.

One of the top hard bop contingents of the '50s and '60s, the Art Farmer and Benny Golson co-led group known as the Jazztet featured some of the best original charts and soloing of the entire era. While the group was only in existence between 1959-1962, its excellent reputation could rest on this stunning disc alone. Cut in 1960, the ten-track date features four of Golson's classic originals ("I Remember Clifford," "Blues March," "Park Avenue Petite," and "Killer Joe") and one very fetching Farmer-penned cut ("Mox Nix"). The rest of the standards-heavy mix is given the golden touch by the sextet. And what a combo this is – besides Farmer's svelte trumpet lines and Golson's frenetically vaporous tenor solos, one gets a chance to hear a young but already very accomplished McCoy Tyner, the tart and mercurial trombonist Curtis Fuller, and the streamlined rhythm tandem of Addison Farmer and Lex Humphries. An essential hard bop title.

Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller, who go back to their Jazztet days in the 1950s and 1960s, are reunited in this great bop-oriented album. Recorded in 1998, it features the quintet with Benny Green on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Plus, on the opening track, special guests Jimmy McGriff and Wayne Boyd play the Hammond B-3 and guitar, respectively. It is great to hear the two principals blow their horns with authority and age-defying power. The highlight of the CD is the medium-tempo blues "South Street Jam" with McGriff on the B-3. Drenched in the soulful essence of the blues, everybody shines!

Recorded in the New York City, November 1957.
Benny Golson is a talented composer/arranger whose tenor playing has continued to evolve with time. After attending Howard University (1947-50) 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 and this was followed by stints with Lionel Hampton (1953-54), Johnny Hodges and Earl Bostic (1954-56). He came to prominence while with Dizzy Gillespie's globetrotting big band (1956-58), as much for his writing as for his tenor playing (the latter was most influenced by Don Byas and Lucky Thompson)…

Benny Golson - New Time, New 'Tet (2009) {Concord Music Group 0888072311213}
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© 2009 Concord Music Group | 0888072311213
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post-Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

At age eighty, tenor saxophonist, composer and band leader Benny Golson is still going strong, and although he experienced a few lean years, is very much a force on the modern mainstream jazz scene in the years of the 2000s. He has revived the spirit of his original Jazztet, co-founded with the late trumpeter Art Farmer, on several occasions since the ensemble was originally founded in 1959. This edition features a strong front line of Golson, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, and trombonist Steve Davis, players from different generations who completely understand the hard and post-bop language. The rhythm section is even more delicious, with pianist Mike LeDonne, peerless bassist Buster Williams, and younger drummer Carl Allen working together in the best sense of that ideal.

The Jazztet and John Lewis ft. Art Farmer and Benny Golson (1961) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9749}
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© 1961, 2013 Argo / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9749
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Cool

Features 24 bit remastering and limited edition. Release Date: December 04, 2013. The idea of the Jazztet playing arrangements by John Lewis written especially for them is intriguing. According to Gene Lees' liner notes, Art Farmer first approached Lewis about writing something for the sextet, to which the composer replied that he'd rather score an entire record. Even though the Jazztet and Lewis' own group, the Modern Jazz Quartet, are dissimilar in many ways, the marriage is a successful one.