Benny Golson

Multi-talented Benny Golson is an acclaimed musical artist who is at home in nearly every idiom of modern music. He is a composer, arranger, lyricist, producer-and a saxophonist of world note. His influence has had an impact on jazz as well as on motion pictures, television, and records. Educated at Howard University, Mr. Golson began his jazz career in his home town of Philadelphia, later shifting his activities to New York City, where he started to gain fame as a saxophonist with such bands as Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Earl Bostic, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, the Farmer/Golson Jazztet, and the Benny Golson Quartet.

He moved to Hollywood for several years and there wrote scores for M*A*S*H, Mission Impossible, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Mannix, David Janssen's feature film Where it's At, Music for the Academy Awards, Run for Your Life, Mod Squad, The Karen Valentine Show, pilots for ABC, NBC, CBS, and specials for BBC in London as well as feature films in Paris and Munich. Other writing projects included writing for Diana Ross, Connie Francis, Eartha Kitt, Lou Rawls, Nancy Wilson, Mama Cass Elliot, Percy Faith, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Mickey Rooney, Oscar Peterson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Benny Goodman, Mel Torme, Miles Davis, John Byner, George Shearing, Dinah Washington, Quincy Jones, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. Mr. Golson has also written the music for radio and television spots for products such as Canada Dry, Nissan, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, Gillette, Heinz Foods, Mattel Toys, Texaco, Orbach's Liquid Plummer, General Telephone, Carnation, and others.

In addition to being a lecturer at major universities, he is an international recording artist who has recorded over 30 albums under his own name and with innumerable other artists. A great number of these colleagues continue to eagerly record his songs, many of which have become jazz standards. The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation commissioned Mr. Golson to write a work for symphony orchestra which was premiered at Lincoln Center, October of 1992 He also wrote a work for youth orchestra and Itzhak Perlman which was performed at Lincoln Center in June of 1993.