Benny Golson, who just celebrated his eightieth birthday, is not one of the young lions of the tenor saxophone whom you might imagine when goatee-clad, fedora sportin’ Gen X-ers get together to talk jazz. He probably should be, though. True, he doesn’t wail as hard as Sonny Rollins, and never pushed the free jazz edge of the galaxy like Coltrane, but he has penned several standards and worked with many of the great, yet underrated, players in the genre. Among his classics are “Whisper Not” and “Along Came Betty.” He even composed music for M*A*S*H, for cryin’ out loud! In his long, illustrious career, Golson has played with many of the greats, including Curtis Fuller (one of my favorite jazz trombonists) and the enigmatic, famously-addicted-to-heroin Philly Joe Jones. His resume almost reads like a Quincy Jones that you don’t know of. And now, he has a greatest hits compilation.
The Best of Benny Golson starts out with the aforementioned “Whisper Not,” a mid-tempo groover. The sound is on the larger side of the small group movement, but not quite “big band,” per se. One of the signature brass lines in the chorus has a delicate muted touch on the trumpets and the trombone accompanies the sax section in quietly responding to the call, but somewhat in the background. There are no huge, flailing solos like in the bebop, hard bop, and free jazz styles, but instead we get nice, succinct statements by select players.
Golson’s tenor sax solo on “Reunion” is rich and warm in tone, but it doesn't explore the vast outer reaches of sound. This is not a bad thing. Once you’ve listened to some crazy-ass free jazz records, sometimes it’s nice to listen to a few tunes that could still be employed in spy movies or detective shows. “Blues After Dark,” which Golson also composed, has a stereotypical walking bass line with a zoot-suit-strut feel to it. The song is carefree in releasing its mournful blues, and the night time is the right time to do just that.
Normally, I steer clear of greatest hits compilations like an envelope full of anthrax powder, but in the case of jazz (and the sometimes-lengthy career retrospective, as is the case with this album), I think it is a great way to introduce someone to an artist. It also gives you a chance to “see” the progression in a player’s style and through the different epochs of style. So, while I have given high praise to this collection, some of you may be asking, “Then what’s up with the score? Seems kinda low.” It is strictly because “best of” collections, even the better ones like the album in question here, are not accurate portrayals of an artist. The songs within take on a different meaning when heard in their original context. And although Golson is a laudatory jazzist, he remains a second tier tenor player (I don’t have a goatee or fedora, but I do have those conversations). True blow-your-doors-off tenor playing comes from Coltrane, Rollins, Gonsalves, Young, and Hawkins, to name a few. Golson is good, but he isn't that good.
However, if you are a beginning or slightly seasoned jazz listener, then Golson is a good place to start for tenor players. Cheers Daddy-o!
-Gabriel Bogart