Benny Golson
tenor saxophone, composer
Tenor saxophonist and composer from Philadelphia who, by Barry’s account, may have been the first to call him from Detroit to New York for a record date; Barry played on Golson’s 1958 Riverside album ‘The Other Side of Benny Golson’.
- mentions
- 3
- recordings
- 3
- Barry speaking
- 1
What Barry says
Barry says players elsewhere knew about him before he realised it and started calling him to New York to make records while he was still living in Detroit. Golson may have been the first to call him for a record date; he also recorded with Thad Jones and others before moving there.
Ep.3 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris1:081:40
In 2015 Barry said Golson had recently told him he was the one who first asked Barry to New York to record, and that he did it because Barry knew the most about Charlie Parker. Barry adds that he cannot confirm it.
Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶42Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶43
Going through his discography with Panken, Barry lists a 1958 Riverside date with Golson, ‘The Other Side of Benny Golson’, and says he does not remember it at all. In the same run-through it comes after his 1956 records with Thad Jones and Hank Mobley.
Asked whether his Prestige dates were his chance to play with stars such as Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon and James Moody, Barry says they were, and notes that he had already been coming to New York to record before he lived there, with Thad Jones and with Golson among others.
In his own words
Benny Golson might have been the first person who called me to come make a record date.
Benny recently told me he was the person who first asked me to come to New York to make a recording, but I can’t confirm that.
He said the reason he did that was because I knew the most about Charlie Parker.
Then in 1958 with Benny Golson for Riverside. “The Other Side of Benny Golson.” I don’t remember that at all!
I came to New York before I even lived here to record. I recorded with Thad, I was with Benny Golson, I recorded with a lot of people
Every mention
3 moments in the recordings, 1 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Ep.3 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris
- 1:40
Golson may have been the first to call Barry from Detroit to New York for a record date.
Barry Harris Spanish TV
- 16:11
Someone else
Spanish TV narration: in 1958 Barry went to New York to record with Golson (‘Benny Gosson’).
Barry Harris Workshop Madrid 2018
- 0:00
Someone else
Spanish promo narration lists Golson among the musicians Barry has played with.
In the interviews and notes
Asked by Schermer whether he had any contact with Golson, Barry says yes, and passes on Golson’s recent claim to have been first to bring him to New York to record, because of his knowledge of Charlie Parker, which Barry cannot confirm.
Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶42Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶43
Reading through his discography, Barry notes a 1958 Riverside session with Golson, ‘The Other Side of Benny Golson’, and admits he has no memory of it.
Barry names Golson, with Thad Jones, among those he travelled to New York to record with before he lived there; it comes up when Panken asks about his later Prestige dates with players such as Dexter Gordon.
Recordings that name them
Barry’s performances and records in the archive that credit or name them.