Benny Golson

Benny Golson is one of the best composers in the history of jazz, so it’s not surprising that his autobiography is also one of the best in writing. Credit goes too to Golson’s friend Jim Merod, for making this into a very entertaining book, and a master class in jazz. I didn’t know much about Benny Golson, but had the understanding that he is a good person respected by everyone who has worked with him, and the tenor saxophonist who penned some unique tunes in the jazz repertoire.

Two stories were especially emotional: when he received his first saxophone, thanks to his incredibly hard-working mother, and when he met Bobbie Hurd, who would become not his first wife but partner for life. The birth of his daughter, told near the end of the book, is also beautifully told, and he acknowledges all his teachers and sets the record straight on a variety of legends. Not just a chronicle of his own career, “Whisper Not” is a mini encyclopedia of jazz history. Golson worked with or knew so many remarkable jazz musicians, and he is able to recall and analyze what made each individual unique, their contributions and superlatives. As a musician myself, this really made me want to play.

Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron, and Art Blakey were especially important in his career, and he had a good amount to teach them in return, especially reshaping the direction of Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Encounters with giants like Thelonious Monk provided valuable lessons (how could they not?) and he explains how Monk, like so many of history’s visionaries, went far too under-recognized during his lifetime. Golson pays special tribute to his friends John Coltrane, Art Farmer, and Quincy Jones, among so many others. There are fun tales of live performances, like trumpet “duels” between Clifford Brown and – yes – Louis Armstrong, and Brownie again against Fats Navarro. Clifford Brown was one of the youngest jazz innovators to die, a shock to the community. “I Remember Clifford” is one of Golson’s best known tunes, and the one he says was the hardest to write. Other moments are preserved here, though they were regretfully not recorded, such as Mulgrew Miller nearly flying off his piano bench from being so in the groove, or Walter Davis, Jr. deviating from his Bud Powell devotion to play a far-ranging unaccompanied keyboard. Everyone he writes about has at least one funny or thoughtful story that the jazz world is privileged to know, thanks to this book.

If you saw the Steven Spielberg-directed movie “The Terminal,” you might remember that Benny Golson was the one musician in the “Great Day in Harlem” photo from whom Tom Hanks’ character had not yet collected an autograph. I was interested in how that came about, and there is some talk of the process, but maybe not as much as I had been hoping for. Still, it was nice to include that – Golson composed, orchestrated and arranged music for films for much of his career, by the way – and I’d like to see that movie again. It is also nice to read about his working method of writing, and stories behind some of his signature compositions. Golson attended Howard University, but doesn’t mention too much from that time, other than incidental encounters, like approaching someone who looked just like Miles Davis. Golson is open in all his story-telling, including his thoughts on the pros and cons of critics, and their role in perpetuating misconceptions, or, inhibiting progress in public perception. There are moments of irony, and some good pranks, all in good fun. The writing is very poetic, and would be just as good as an audiobook. Thank you, Benny Golson, for the music, and thank you Jim Merod and Temple University Press for helping Benny record these stories.

Note: this e-book was provided through Net Galley. For more reviews, follow my blog at http://matt-stats.blogspot.com/… (mais)