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Benny Golson

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.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 25, 1929 (Philadelphia (largest city in Pennsylvania, United States)), Died September 21, 2024 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1959

Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 105629 3/24/1959 Big city blues George Russell Orchestra instrumentalist, tenor saxophone  
Decca 106127 3/24/1959 East side medley: Autumn in New York ; How about you George Russell Orchestra instrumentalist, tenor saxophone  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Golson, Benny," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318144.

Golson, Benny. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318144.

"Golson, Benny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/318144

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