November 2024 / Issue 271

The New York City Jazz Record published a In Memoriam Special Feature in its current issue which lets Benny's fellow musicians speak about their late collegue and friend. Read the comments by James Carter, Eric Alexander, Reggie Workman, Javon Jackson, Eddie Henderson, Louis Hayes, Sonny Rollins, Mike Ledonne, David Amram, Rufus Reid, Roy McCurdy, Joe Lovano, Valery Ponomarev, Melissa Aldana and Odean Pope.

The New York Jazz Record Website

Benny Golson pointing at himself in the 1958 Art Kane photograph

Watch a great CBS piece and interview with Benny Golson about the famous photograph, its creation and Benny's first visit to the original stoop 60 years later. Also, read an insightful essay from the Wall Street Journal about this iconic moment in jazz history.

Read the article

Welcome, friends!
It gives me so much pleasure to welcome you to my official website. As you know, I started my career in jazz about 65 years ago. I was privileged "to cut my teeth" with the renowned Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Earl Bostic and Art Blakey. Travelling all over the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, I have been playing the music I love so much.

To those of you who are just hearing about me, please read my bio in the Artist Profile. Over the years, so many of you have supported my music by coming to my performances and buying my records and CDs. To all of you, my deep and personal THANK YOU!

Benny Golson

A letter from the Office of the President of Howard University 

The Board of Trustees of Howard University wishes to include in its official record an expression of sincere condolence to the family of Mr. Benny Golson, internationally renowned tenor saxophonist, innovative lyricist, composer and arranger, and gifted music educator. The young Benny Golson arrived on Howard's campus from his home in Philadelphia in the fall of 1947 at a time when jazz music classes were not part of the School of Music's curricula. He and fellow classmates played for no credit in the school's jazz band, and Benny also performed with the Howard Swing Masters. Benny left Howard after three years to pursue his passion, but always credited Howard with helping to shape his career and with giving him a broader outlook on life and how he  "fit into things."

Tom Hanks' character watches Benny Golson play Killer Joe in a hotel lounge while waiting to get his autograph.

In Steven Spielberg's 2004 film The Terminal, Tom Hanks plays an Eastern European man who is stranded at JFK for months and while doing so keeps a promise to his late father. He sets out to obtain the only missing autograph of the 57 jazz musician assembled in A Great Day in Harlem. The missing autograph is that of Benny Golson.

The Autograph - Tom Hanks and Benny Golson Scene


Promises - Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones

WHO WAS BETTY?

Find the answer to this question in our featured article from the WSJ 2012.

Read the article

Due to the Covid Pandemic all of Benny's national and international concerts have been cancelled.

for details

Reviewed by Jack Bowers


At age eighty-seven, saxophonist Benny Golson is one of the last surviving links to the Golden Age of modern jazz, ushered in by the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke and others in the early '40s .....

..... At an age that is far past retirement for most mortals, Benny Golson not only keeps working but showing a younger generation that when it comes to contemporary jazz, maturity and experience are dependable allies in the ongoing battle with Father Time.

Read the full review

FOR PRESS PHOTOS

Obituary - WRTI - By Shaun Brady - 9/22/2024

Benny Golson, a master saxophonist revered as much for the durable standards he contributed to the jazz repertoire as for his eloquent tenor sound, died on Saturday at his home in Manhattan. He was 95. His longtime manager and agent, Jason Franklin, said he died after a short illness. Golson played an integral role in the transition from bebop to hard bop through his short but vital tenure with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and with his own influential Jazztet, co-led by trumpeter Art Farmer. But his place in the jazz pantheon would be secure even if he had never played a note. Few jazz musicians can claim as many bona fide standards to their credit: bedrock compositions like “Whisper Not,” “Stablemates,” “I Remember Clifford,” “Along Came Betty,” “Killer Joe,” and “Blues March.” “Every stroke of his pen became another classic,” trumpeter Eddie Henderson, a member of one of his bands, tells WRTI. “His signature sound was undeniable: he could play one note and you knew it was Benny Golson. That’s the mark of a true artist."

Art Kane's son Jonathan Kane and Benny Golson during a presentation celebrating the publication of 'Art Kane Harlem 1958'. Photgraph by Grayson Dantzic.

'With the publication of this handsome book we get a closer look at some of the out-takes of Art Kane's excellent work. It's heartwarming to see some of these people greeting each other as the cabs roll up to the appointed place. There's no ego on display here. These are great artists who recognize each others' gifts. I would heartily recommend this book to any jazz and/or photography lover.'
(excerpt from an online review by Don Brown)

Purchase the book

Buy it at:
> Barnes and Noble
> Amazon

Benny Golson and the Fritz Pauer Trio
Jazzland (Vienna) 2009



Benny's Solo for Stolen Moments
Viersen (Germany) Jazz Festival 2008

Benny Golson plays "Along Came Betty" in front of an audience of jazz students as the culmination of a master class in playing jazz held at Loyola University, New Orleans, and discusses how he wrote the song.

Browse this great portal for Benny-related video, poster art, music, articles and more.