What do you think?
Rate this book
Whisper Not: The Autobiography of Benny Golson
“ One of the greatest artists our country has is Benny Golson. He is not only a great musician, but an original and fabulous composer. He is inventive and creative and his work is loved the world over. Benny is a rare, creative genius. All I would like to say is THREE CHEERS for Benny Golson! ”—Tony Bennett
“ Composer supreme, tenor man supreme, jazz man supreme, good guy that’s BENNY GOLSON!" —Sonny Rollins
Born during the de facto inaugural era of jazz, saxophonist Benny Golson learned his instrument and the vocabulary of jazz alongside John Coltrane while Golson was still in high school in Philadelphia. Quickly establishing himself as an iconic fixture on the jazz landscape, Golson performed with dozens of jazz greats, from Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmy Heath to Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and many others. An acclaimed composer, Golson also wrote music for Hollywood films and television and composed such memorable jazz standards as “Stablemates,” “Killer Joe,” and “Whisper Not.”
An eloquent account of Golson’s exceptional life—presented episodically rather than chronologically— Whisper Not includes a dazzling collection of anecdotes, memories, experiences, and photographs that recount the successes, the inevitable failures, and the rewards of a life eternally dedicated to jazz.
“ Composer supreme, tenor man supreme, jazz man supreme, good guy that’s BENNY GOLSON!" —Sonny Rollins
Born during the de facto inaugural era of jazz, saxophonist Benny Golson learned his instrument and the vocabulary of jazz alongside John Coltrane while Golson was still in high school in Philadelphia. Quickly establishing himself as an iconic fixture on the jazz landscape, Golson performed with dozens of jazz greats, from Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmy Heath to Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and many others. An acclaimed composer, Golson also wrote music for Hollywood films and television and composed such memorable jazz standards as “Stablemates,” “Killer Joe,” and “Whisper Not.”
An eloquent account of Golson’s exceptional life—presented episodically rather than chronologically— Whisper Not includes a dazzling collection of anecdotes, memories, experiences, and photographs that recount the successes, the inevitable failures, and the rewards of a life eternally dedicated to jazz.
- GenresMusic
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Benny Golson
19 books1 followerBenny Golson was an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson was known for co-founding and co-leading The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959. From the late 1960s through the 1970s Golson was in demand as an arranger for film and television and thus was less active as a performer, but he and Farmer re-formed the Jazztet in 1982.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 14, 2020
I’m a musician, so this book really resonated it deeply with me. A very good read, and a very good glimpse into the 50s jazz.
September 20, 2016
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/
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/
June 26, 2016
An excellent book memoir about a jazz musician, and composer. He begins his book with his memoires of John Coltrane, upon hearing of his death and how he was 16, and Coltrane was 17 he would come over to his house to practice and how his mother would ask John to play the same song every day as she would be cleaning the house. What a memory, but that is just one. He goes on to how the two of them would sneak into a club to listen to Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker, “the Bird”. They were even able to speak to them at the end for just a bit. This book is really a who’s, who’s, in the jazz music. Benny Golson, played with in a band or meet. He was in Art Blakey’s messenger’s band which is a very good band, he also played in Billy Eckstine’s band, who if you have never heard him sing I would say to try to find some of his music, he was fabulous. He also speaks of his time with Art Framer, Clifford Brown, and many others. All of them excellent musicians and he played behind many singers as well. In the 70’s he got into doing music for T.V. he speaks of the difficulties it was to break into that field along with doing movie scores. Overall a very moving book about a very good jazz musician In his own right but he does not blow his sax in telling you. Also if you never heard of any of these men look up there music it is wonderful. Have many of them so this was a good book for me. I got this book from netgalley. i gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
December 19, 2016
Golson is a brilliant musician and composer, but his autobiography doesn't do his career justice. It's a bit stilted and unorganized. Nevertheless there are some pretty great stories in here.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews