Benny Golson

"I hope they can look into my heart's core to understand that what they hear is the reflection of my inner parts -- my thinking, my curiosity, my imagination."

    I've always enjoyed Nat Hentoff's jazz writing.  In today's WSJ, he has a wonderful write-up on tenor saxophone player Benny Golson, who has a new record out. 

    Hentoff mentions, and I'd forgotten, that he was involved in recruiting musicians to pose for the famous, timeless Art Kane Great Day in Harlem photograph in 1958.  Golson, now 80, was kind of a pup at the time, and wanted to collect autographs from the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Roy Eldridge and Rex Stewart.

    Hentoff's review of the new Benny Golson CD, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), Mike Ledonne (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and thbe national treasure Carl Allen (drums) makes me want to go right down to my local music store (that's right, the local music store that contributes to our community, not Amazon.com) and buy the CD, and I will.  Meanwhile, here's the Great Day in Harlem photo:

 

   And, brought to you by the doctor of Youtubeology, here's Benny Golson with the late, great Freddie Hubbard, Mulgrew Miller , Ron Carter and Marvin "Smitty" Smith:

Comments

[Ron]

The Great Day photo was recreated by Life in 1996 with only 11 survivors: http://www.clarehansson.com/marianmcpartland/content/popups/harlem_01.htm