Benny Golson passed on to the great bandstand in the sky on Saturday, September 21st; he was 95. I have not attempted to write my own obituary but have provided a gift link to the New York Times obituary below. I have, though, included some observational notes, as well as two recordings of Benny Goodman from an appearance he made here in Colorado back in 2005. In the performance, Mr. Golson provides a number of anecdotes and stories. His first anecdote is about starting out with John Coltrane.
Benny Golson was both a highly accomplished musician, composer, and arranger, as well as a great storyteller and sage [1]https://www.discogs.com/artist/185752-Benny-Golson. In 1958, he was included as a sideman on the Creed Taylor-produced “Oscar Pettiford Orchestra In Hi-Fi, Volume Two” album on ABC Paramount [2]https://www.discogs.com/master/574570-The-Oscar-Pettiford-Orchestra-Oscar-Pettiford-Orchestra-In-Hi-Fi-Volume-Two. Golson also participated in the last original recording made by Creed Taylor and the accompanying Rhythmstick film, a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie [3]https://www.discogs.com/master/510553-Rhythmstick-Rhythmstick. It was fitting that both projects included Art Farmer.
It was with Farmer, in their Jazztet, formed in 1959, that Golson’s most recognized and successful track “Killer Joe” first appeared [4]https://www.discogs.com/master/120765-Art-Farmer-Benny-GolsonJazztet-Meet-The-Jazztet. The track, apart from a catchy hook, even in its original 1958 format, includes the “rap” by Golson. It is, though, perhaps best known as it was recorded on Quincy Jones’ Walking In Space album from 1969, also produced by Creed Taylor [5]https://www.discogs.com/master/117354-Quincy-Jones-Walking-In-Space.
The Jazztet’s first appearance was captured in the “Strictly Ad Lib” column of Downbeat in the December 24th, 1959 issue – Page 12. The Jazztet played the Five Spot through until New Years Eve 1959.
The new Jazztet, featuring Art Farmer, trumpet; Benny Golson, tenor, and Curtis Fuller, trombone, opened its first New York City date on Nov. 17 at the Five Spot. The highly critical press assemblage also heard the controversial alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, who also was making his first New York appearance, alternating on the stand with his group. The consensus of the audience, as far as the Jazztet was concerned, was unanimous approval. Noteworthy was the musical cohesion of the Golson-Farmer-Fuller unit. They played a one-nighter tor the Orange County Community College Jazz club on Nov. 23 (their night off at the Five Spot) in Middletown, N Y.
Downbeat Magazine – December 24th, 1959
Mount Vernon Country Club – Live 2005
Here is the two-part recording from the Mount Vernon Canyon Club in Golden, Colorado [6]https://www.mountvernoncc.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=70&ssid=100210&vnf=1. The club was renamed from Country to Canyon in 2017. Golden is at the foot of the snowcapped Rocky Mountains west of Denver, Colorado. The Canyon Club played a key role in the development of jazz in Colorado and supported the local jazz community, especially musicians from the Five Points neighborhood in Denver as they played dinner dances in the late 1920s.
These recordings were made by John Dawson from Colorado directly to a Sony Mini Disc MZ-R700 with a Sony ECM DS70P mic. They are still remarkably good quality. John is a live jazz collector, amateur jazz historian, and music preservationist. He has contributed more than 160 live sets to the Internet Archive that can be streamed or downloaded [7]https://archive.org/details/@cojohn009/uploads. The recordings here are not hosted by ctproduced.com; they are streamed directly from the Internet Archive. Using the ctproduced playlist, you can also download and save local copies of the files.
Part-1 includes a fantastic version of “Killer Joe”.
New York Times Obituary by Leonard Benardo
NY Times Gift Article – Benny Golson obituary [8]https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/arts/music/benny-golson-dead.html
Rhythmstick – The Creed Taylor All-Star Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie
References
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