Recorded in November and December 1958 for United Artists, the LP featured five players who hailed from Philadelphia: Benny Golson (ts), Lee Morgan (tp), Ray Bryant (p), Percy Heath (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). [Photo above of Benny Golson]
Tracks on the release are You're Not the Kind (Gigi Gryce), Blues on My Mind (Benny Golson), Stablemates (Golson), Thursday's Theme (Golson), Afternoon in Paris (John Lewis) and Calgary (Ray Bryant).
The joy of this album is how each artist has a different sound and attack, and brought something special to the mix: Benny's slippery and muscular saxophone, Morgan's piercing trumpet, Bryant's soul-jazz piano, Heath's swinging bass and Jones's sharp poly-rhythmic drums. Together and apart, they sounded fantastic.
Here's the full Benny Golson and the Philadelphians without ad interruptions...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.