Benny Golson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Golson in 1985 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 25, 1929 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 21, 2024 (aged 95) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument | Tenor saxophone |
| Years active | 1949–2024 |
| Formerly of | The Jazztet |
| Website | www |
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.