Benny Golson – Biography, Discography & Instruments

Biography

Benny Golson was a jazz musician who played saxophone and tenor saxophone. Benny Golson was born on 25 January 1929 in Philadelphia and died on 21 September 2024 in New York City. The music is usually filed under jazz and jazz fusion. Record labels: Prestige. The discography here lists 29 albums, from “Benny Golson's New York Scene” (1957) to “Horizon Ahead” (2016). Honours include Guggenheim Fellowship (1994) and NEA Jazz Masters.

Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. 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 was 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 re-formed the Jazztet in 1982. Many of Golson's compositions have become jazz standards, including "I Remember Clifford", "Blues March", "Stablemates", "Whisper Not", "Along Came Betty", and "Killer Joe". He is regarded as "one of the most significant contributors" to the development of hard bop jazz, and was a recipient of a Grammy Trustees Award in 2021.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Benny Golson's New York Scene 1957 · Contemporary Groovin' With Golson 1959 · New Jazz The Other Side of Benny Golson 1959 · Riverside Gettin' With It 1960 · Prestige Gone With Golson 1960 · Prestige Take a Number From 1 to 10 1961 · Argo Free 1962 · Argo Turning Point 1963 · Mercury Records The Dynamic Jack Mc Duff 1964 · Prestige Just Jazz! 1965 · Audio Fidelity Stockholm Sojourn 1965 · Stateside Tune In Turn On: To the Hippest Commercials of the Sixties 1967 · Verve Killer Joe 1977 · Vocalion I'm Always Dancin' to the Music 1978 · Columbia California Message 1981 · Baystate Time Speaks 1983 · Baystate Stardust 1987 · DENON This Is for You John 1987 · Timeless Records Up Jump Spring 1990 I Remember Miles 1992 Up Jumped Benny 1996 · Live · Arkadia Jazz Benny Golson and the Philadelphians 1998 · Blue Note Tenor Legacy 1998 · Arkadia Jazz One Day, Forever 2001 · Akkadia Jazz Terminal 1 2004 · Concord Jazz

Live in Mosciano Sant'Angelo: Oh, Jazz Be Good! 2004 2005 · Live

New Time, New 'Tet 2009 · Concord Jazz Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 1, 3 and 5 2011 · SnailWorx Horizon Ahead 2016 · HighNote Records

Also plays on

Albums where Benny Golson is credited as a sideman

1957	Dizzy in Greece — Dizzy Gillespie	arranger, tenor saxophone
1957	The Swingin’ Miss “D” — Dinah Washington with Quincy Jones and His Orchestra	arranger
1957	Vol. 3 — Lee Morgan	arranger, tenor saxophone
1957	Moody's Mood for Love — James Moody	piano
1957	Jazz Sahib — Sahib Shihab	tenor saxophone
1958	It’s Magic — Abbey Lincoln	arranger, tenor saxophone
1958	Out There With Betty Carter — Betty Carter	tenor saxophone
1958	Modern Art — Art Farmer	tenor saxophone
1959	The Birth of a Band — Quincy Jones	tenor saxophone
1959	Brass Shout — Art Farmer	arranger
1959	Bags' Opus — Milt Jackson	tenor saxophone
1959	Kelly Blue — Wynton Kelly	tenor saxophone
1959	New York N.Y. — George Russell	tenor saxophone
1959	The Curtis Fuller Jazztet — Curtis Fuller Jazztet with Benny Golson	tenor saxophone
1959	Blues-ette — Curtis Fuller	tenor saxophone
1959	Out of the Blue — Blue Mitchell	tenor saxophone
1959	Winchester Special — Lem Winchester & Benny Golson	tenor saxophone
1960	Mingus Dynasty — Charles Mingus	tenor saxophone, saxophone
1961	Smooth as the Wind — Blue Mitchell	arranger, conductor
1962	Essence — John Lewis	tenor saxophone
1963	Reeds & Deeds — Roland Kirk	arranger
1964	Prelude — Brother Jack McDuff	arranger, conductor
1965	Silk and Soul — Brother Jack McDuff	arranger, conductor
1967	Sassy Swings Again — Sarah Vaughan	tenor saxophone, reeds
1967	Baroque Sketches — Art Farmer & The Baroque Orchestra	arranger
1967	Hip Vibrations — Cal Tjader	arranger
1967	Groove Merchant — Jerome Richardson	arranger, conductor
1967	Finger-Lickin’ Good — Dr. Lonnie Smith	arranger
1968	The Midnight Sun — “Brother” Jack McDuff	conductor
1969	Your Good Thing — Lou Rawls	arranger

Standards written by Benny Golson

Title	Key	Form	Groove
I Remember Clifford	E♭ major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Whisper Not	C minor	AABA · 32	Medium swing
Along Came Betty	A♭ major	ABC · 34	Medium swing
Stablemates	D♭ major	ABA · 36	Medium swing
Blues March	B♭ major	AABB · 48	Medium swing
Domingo	C minor	AAB · 40	Up-tempo swing
The Cool One	G major	AABA · 32	Medium swing

Awards

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Benny Golson play?

Benny Golson is known for playing saxophone and tenor saxophone.

When and where was Benny Golson born?

Benny Golson was born 25 January 1929 in Philadelphia.

What are Benny Golson's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Benny Golson's New York Scene (1957), Groovin' With Golson (1959), The Other Side of Benny Golson (1959), Gettin' With It (1960) and Gone With Golson (1960).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.