Song:Whisper Not
Album:1957-1962 The Classic Albums Collection
Not only is Benny Golson one of the all time tenor sax greats but he is an all time great composer and arranger. Several of his songs have become jazz standards including Whisper Not, I Remember Clifford, Killer Joe and Blues March. He was born Jan. 25, 1929 in Philadelphia. As a teen he played with John Coltrane, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Red Garland and others. After graduating from Howard University, Golson joined Bull Moose Jackson's R&B band. The pianist in that band Tadd Dameron was a big influence on Golson's writing. He joined Dameron's band in 1953. Golson also played with Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Golson wrote Whisper Not while he was in Gillespie's big band. And it appears on the 1957 album Birks Works. Trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded it on his 1957 album Dizzy Atmosphere. Both guys were in the Jazz Messengers when it appeared on the album 1958 Paris Olympia. Whisper Not also appears on Golson's debut album as a leader, Benny Golson's New York Scene on Contemporary Records in 1959. Musicians are Art Farmer on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Charlie Persip on drums. A horn section is added for Whisper Not with Gigi Gryce in alto sax, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone and Julius Watkins on French horn. Soon after this Golson formed a band with Farmer and they recorded several albums. You can get all those albums on this 4CD box set. The original album is also available on CD. And Concord has released a Best of Benny Golson CD that includes Whisper Not. Whisper Not is a jazz standard that has been recorded by many artists. In the late 60s, Golson moved to Los Angeles and composed for TV shows like It Takes A Thief, The Partridge Family, Room 222 and MASH. Golson returned to recording in the late 70s and has been very active ever since. His latest album Horizon Ahead was released on High Note in 2016. And he is currently on tour. Here's Benny Golson performing Whisper Not with Freddie Hubbard on flugelhorn, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums in Tokyo 1987.
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