Sunday, July 25, 2004

New CDs, movie role give Benny Golson rare level of exposure

Photo Gallery Benny Golson

By Bob Karlovits
TRIBUNE-REVIEW MUSIC WRITER
Sunday, July 25, 2004

This is turning into a Benny Golson summer.

Not only does he have a role in the recent Steven Spielberg film, "The Terminal," but a new album with a related name, "Terminal 1," has just been released by Concord, for whom he just started recording.

In late August, Mosaic will release a seven-CD compilation, "The Complete Argo-Mercury Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet Sessions."

It's the kind of presence jazz musicians don't often have.

"I told Steven Spielberg he has been a hero of mine since his first film, 'Duel,' but now he has become something of a Shadow Warrior for me," Golson says from his home in Germany, where he spends half the year.

Jazz fans don't need anyone to remind them of 75-year-old Golson. The composer of tunes such as "Blues March" and "Killer Joe" has a spot in jazz history by creating songs that have become representative of the art.

The All Music Guide, a Web site link to recorded music at www.allmusic.com, reports 232 versions of "I Remember Clifford," one of the most haunting melodies in jazz.

Non-fans have encountered him in other ways. In the late '60s, Golson wrote soundtrack music for many TV shows, including "Mission: Impossible," "The Mod Squad" and "Room 222."

But the Spielberg movie gave him a little boost.

He says he was thrilled at the idea of having a small, speaking role in a film, but didn't know he would be playing himself until he got to Montreal for the filming. And his role as himself is a key element in the unfolding of the story.

He says when "The Terminal" was released, he told his agent to use it as a way of putting together a new recording contract.

"The very first company we went to, Concord, was interested, so we went with that," he says.

There's one thing the movie didn't do, he says: Change his approach toward playing or writing.

"That's always been the same," he says.

And it's always good to stay in touch with that.