Home » Jazz Articles » One LP » Benny Golson: Dizzy Gillespie Sextet with Dexter Gordon:...
Benny Golson: Dizzy Gillespie Sextet with Dexter Gordon: Blue 'n' Boogie
I had many heroes in the beginning, my first one was probably Coleman Hawkins and then Don Byas, Ben Webster, Lucky Thompson, but then one that really got me down the line was a fella named Dexter Gordon, and he made a recording with Dizzy Gillespie ["Blue 'n' Boogie" 1945] and when I heard that my life changed again.
It changed when I first heard the saxophone but when I heard that recording of Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon it opened up something else for me cuz his style was different from Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas and Ben Websterit was another soundeven different from Lester Young.
Like I said it opened my ears up when I heard that and I started trying to do other things because at that time I didn't have my own interpretation or conceptlike money in the bank to reach in and do what you want to do. I had nothing in to reach in to get. So I was eclectic, imitating everyonepiano players, guitar players, trying to understand what this thing called jazz is all aboutespecially improvisation cuz that's what jazz is all about. Nobody comes to hear the melody over and over again; after the melody they want to know what you've got on your mind musically! And you have to have something to say. You should have, and it takes a while to get to that point.
Dexter had something to say in a little different way than the others, and to me, at that timeit's a long time agoit was pretty hip, pretty hip.
Everything was so newso all those early days were like an adventure, and still are today. I'm an old guy today but I've still have my ears open and I still think there are things I would like to do that I haven't done yet even in my old age you know. And it's still has that sense of adventure to it. Yeah, it's an adventure of sorts and I'm committed, I really am and I guess like Sonny Rollins said "There's no end to it."
They ask me a lot of times "Mr. Golson -what is the favourite tune that you have written?" And my answer's always the same "I haven't written it yet." There's always something to do.
Benny Golson: The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow in September 2015.
< Previous
Rolling Stones From the Vault: Live a...
Next >
The Bell
Comments
About Benny Golson
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToTags
benny golson
One LP
William Ellis
United Kingdom
Coleman Hawkins
Don Byas
ben webster
Lucky Thompson
Dexter Gordon
Dizzy Gillespie
Lester Young
Sonny Rollins