A heavyweight composer and arranger as well as performer, Philadelphia native Benny Golson lent his sidewinding tenor sax to the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton before leading his own bands from the late '50s. He has a handful of jazz standards to his name, including the sighing “I Remember Clifford” and playfully mood-swinging “Whisper Not”. His pieces often feature bold quirks of structure, whether it's the robust fanfare opening the otherwise light-stepping “Whisper Not” or the in-depth spoken introduction to the ambling “Killer Joe”. Through it all, Golson is a steadfast presence with a knack for warm, burnished articulation.
