ABSTRACT
Saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, born January 25, 1929, grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside his childhood friend John Coltrane. Both Golson and Coltrane were passionately drawn to swing music during the early '40s, eventually became leading figures within the hard bop movement of the '50s and early '60s and beyond. They were poor. Golson think they were on welfare during that time and did not have extra money to see live shows, so after doing his homework every day, he would turn the radio on and listen for the soloists. Art Blakey was the biggest liar in the world, but the best drummer Golson have ever played with in his whole life. That man did not know how not to swing and he was a naturally intuitive teacher. He was not an academic but he knew how to convey all the right information to his musicians.
