'In 1960 Golson formed the Jazztet, featuring a three-horn front line that included Art Farmer and his trombonist of choice, Curtis Fuller. The group was essential modern jazz listening, but the 1960s became an increasingly difficult time to earn a living as a jazz musician, so in 1968 Golson moved to Los Angeles, composing primarily for television and movie soundtracks...'

To celebrate the saxophonist and composer’s 80th birthday as well as his sixty years in the music business, Golson was honored at Washington’s Kennedy Center just four days after the inauguration of Barack Obama. On January 20th Concord Records released Golson’s first new studio recording in five years, and in conjuction with this event, they have also put together a career-spanning retrospective release, The Best of Benny Golson.

A retrospective of this kind is long overdue, as Golson is a composer with whom all aspiring jazz musicians, composers, and arrangers should be very familiar. Admittedly, not everything is here—no ‘I Remember Clifford,” for example. But what is here is both timeless and varied enough to whet the appetite of anyone with an interest in finely arranged and executed small group jazz. The collection starts off, suitably enough, with a rendition of “Whisper Not,” perhaps Golson’s most well-known composition, done in an urbane setting with a small horn section comprised of Art Farmer, James Cleveland, Julius Watkins, Sahib Shihab, and Gigi Gryce. The rhythm section is comprised of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Charles Persip. This rendition was recorded in 1957 and comes from Golson’s first date as a leader, New York Scene.

Golson worked extensively with a three horn front line, recording on his second leadership date with JJ Johnson and Kenny Dorham. The track “Reunion” was composed by Gigi Gryce for this session at Golson’s request. Kelly is back on piano, Chambers plays a hot bowed bass solo, and Max Roach drives the whole group. “Are You Real?” is a Golson composition that appeared on the 1958 recording The Other Side of Benny Golson, a blowing session with Curtis Fuller on trombone. The two horn players deliver warm, glowing solos, and pianist the rhythm players (pianist Barry Harris, bassist Jymie Merrit, and drummer Jo Jones) all get their day in the sun as well. All of this in five minutes and forty-one seconds. “Blues after Dark” is, of course, a blues, with a hard bop edge. Fuller is back on trombone, though this time out the pianist is Ray Bryant, a great choice for a blues/gospel influenced number. Golson plays with a tone and shorter phrasing that demonstrates the influence of the Ben Webster/Don Byas school of tenor playing, but his ability to allow his phrasing to lag at times behind the actual beat show he learned plenty from Lester Young as well, even if not overtly. Bryant’s solo is truly magnificent, boldly swinging and bluesy—he is a pianist that deserves much more recognition for his recorded work.

“I Didn’t Know What Time it Was” from Groovin’ With Golson, finds the saxophonist back in the company of Fuller and Bryant, this time with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Blakey. Golson had played in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1958, and had only recently left the group when this date was recorded. Golson had quickly become an essential part of Blakey’s group, composing the tunes “Along Came Betty” and “Blues March,” both of which became major charts in the Blakey band’s book. Blakey returns the favor here by pushing Golson’s solo playing along with his rolls. Here Golson is playing at the top of his form, certainly the equal of just about any tenor man you could name from this time. Another 1959 session, this one released on the album Getting With It, yielded the gorgeous ballad rendition of “April In Paris” heard here. Golson is not known first and foremost as an interpreter of ballads, but the rendition heard here should quell any doubts as to his skill at the slower tempo.

In 1960 Golson formed the Jazztet, featuring a three-horn front line that included Art Farmer and his trombonist of choice, Curtis Fuller. The group was essential modern jazz listening, but the 1960s became an increasingly difficult time to earn a living as a jazz musician, so in 1968 Golson moved to Los Angeles, composing primarily for television and movie soundtracks. In the 1980s and 90s he released recordings for labels that included Contemporary and Milestone. The rendition of ‘Along Came Betty’ included here come s from a 1986 recording live at Sweet Basil. The performance reunited Golson with Fuller and Farmer, and the performance recorded here is a sharp one. “Five Spot After Dark” is a Golson composition from 1959, heard here in a 1997 performance from Remembering Clifford with additional saxophonist Ron Blake and trumpeter John Swana. The final track here, the classic composition for the Jazztet, “Killer Joe” features Eddie Henderson on trumpet and was recorded for the Concord album Terminal I, which featured music arranged for the Tom Hanks film The Terminal, in which Golson appeared as himself. Throughout these ‘80s performances and beyond, one can hear that Golson has continued to develop his playing, and is without question one of the finest living tenor men around today. His tone has only deepened and become warmer and fuller over time.

As Golson celebrates his 80th year, he revisits his favorite venue, the sextet with three horns in the front line on the album New Time, New ‘Tet. Eddie Henderson, who has worked with Golson before, is here, along with trombonist Steve Davis, who proves more than up to the task of taking on the part defined by Curtis Fuller. Mike Ledone’s piano solidly lays the harmonic groundwork for the horn players’ solo expeditions, and bassist Buster Williams and drummer Carl Allen are much more than a merely adequate rhythm section. So how does this group measure up to past versions of the Jazztet? The answer, in brief, is yes—quite admirably. The opening number, Steve Davis’ “Grove’s Groove” is a minor key blues that sounds like classic small group jazz but is not in any way dated. The group is very tight, sounding like a real working band.
Golson takes on two jazz standards with excellent results. Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin” is firm and four square yet never plodding. Monk’s “Epistrophy” uses the combination of horns deftly to allow a bit of counterpoint to form the foundation for the composer’s famed angular melody.

The rest are Golson originals that show an inventive mind still working on new musical ideas. “From Dream to Dream” is a gorgeous ballad where the sweetness of Eddie Henderson’s playing can be readily heard. As on practically every track here, Steve Davis emerges as a crucial player in the lineup who hits his part out of the ballpark every time. “Gypsy Jingle-Jangle” utilizes a folk song-like melody with a middle bridge that is straight ahead post bop jazz. “Uptown Afterburn,” which closes the album, is classic Golson, and sounds a bit reminiscent of his big hits like “Killer Joe” in construction, even though they sound very dissimilar.

Golson arranges melodies by two classical musicians on this album as well. On “L’Adieu” he works with a melody o f Frederic Chopin, while on “Verdi’s Voice” he does the same with Verdi. Both are vital arrangements that come across as anything but a rehashing of third stream classical/jazz collaborations of yore. Rounding out the collection is an arrangement of El Debarge’s “Love Me in a Special Way” that demonstrate’s Golson’s ability to write interesting and flattering arrangements around pretty much any compositional material.

New Time, New ‘Tet is most definitely not an attempt to recreate a retro sound or document a recent performance by an artist that is past his prime. On the contrary, the listener will know immediately that he or she is in the hands of an experienced musician who still has a great deal of interest in his craft and who continues to grow and develop despite a lifetime of experience.