Benny Golson is also one of our spiritual Brother´s

[Guest Kurt]

"Whisper Not: Autobiography of Benny Golson"

This just came out, and it's definitely worth a read, although I really don't like BG's writing style.
He tends to use flowery writing rather than just getting to the point. He also repeats entire stories a lot, because the book isn't written chronologically.

Another thing about the book that makes it a bit fluffy is that he tells you in the preface that he's not going to say anything about the negative 'habits' that the jazz musicians he talks about had during their lives.
Strangely enough, he mentions that Bill Evans had a bad drug habit, but he says nothing about Bird's, Miles' Trane's, etc...

Other than the above, he covers most of the musicians he worked with in his 86 years, with a strong emphasis on Trane, whom he grew up with in Philadelphia.
There's a lot of talk about aesthetics in jazz and writing that are pretty interesting. He devotes small chapters to his greatest 'hits'; Stablemates, Whisper Not, Along Came Betty, Killer Joe, etc...where he talks about the process of writing them.

He reveals in the last chapter of the book that he is a very strong Jehovah's Witness, so that could have something to do with his outlook on things.
Rather than put musicians down, he tends to just leave them out of the book.
An example is his omission of Ornette Coleman and his crowd; he puts down 'avant garde' musicians, who play purely from emotion, without any of the nuances that he feels are vital to the creation of good jazz improvisation, but doesn't name any of those musicians.

Benny Golson's Official Website

Benny Golson youtube

[Evacuated]

Aside from the slightly negative review above, Benny Golson is in the 2004 Tom Hanks movie, The Terminal. It is a heart warming story and a chance to see a real jazz legend, who is also one of our brothers. The story has a focus on getting his signature on a wonderful photo. If you haven't seen the movie yet...don't miss it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Great_Day_in_Harlem_(photograph)

(L - R) Hilton Jefferson, Benny Golson*, Art Farmer, Wilbur Ware, Art Blakey, Chubby Jackson, Johnny Griffin, Dickie Wells, Buck Clayton, Taft Jordan, Zutty Singleton, Red Allen, Tyree Glenn, Miff Molo, Sonny Greer, Jay C. Higginbotham, Jimmy Jones, Charles Mingus, Jo Jones, Gene Krupa, Max Kaminsky, George Wettling, Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Russell, Ernie Wilkins, Buster Bailey, Osie Johnson, Gigi Gryce, Hank Jones, Eddie Locke, Horace Silver, Luckey Roberts, Maxine Sullivan, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Thomas, Scoville Browne, Stuff Smith, Bill Crump, Coleman Hawkins, Rudy Powell, Oscar Pettiford, Sahib Shihab, Marian McPartland, Sonny Rollins*, Lawrence Brown, Mary Lou Williams, Emmett Berry, Thelonius Monk, Vic Dickenson, Milt Hinton, Lester Young, Rex Stewart, J.C. Heard, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldgridge, Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie curbside. (*still living today)

[TrueTomHarley]

I knew nothing of this brother. Thank you.

I did see the movie, though. I liked it when the terminal manager reacted to Hanks' in-house business. "I don't make that much money!"