---
name: "Benny Golson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/benny-golson"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "25 January 1929"
died: "21 September 2024"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
updated: "2026-09-16T16:17:13.191552+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Benny Golson

Composer. Born 25 January 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 21 September 2024.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 25 January 1929, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Died:** 21 September 2024
- **Active:** 1966–1972
- **Works often with:** Duane Tatro, Michael O'Herlihy, Terry Becker

## Biography

Benny Golson was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. Born in Philadelphia on 25 January 1929, he came to prominence in the 1950s playing with the bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, and as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He co-founded and co-led the hard bop group the Jazztet with Art Farmer from 1959 to 1962, and wrote several jazz standards including 'I Remember Clifford', 'Whisper Not', 'Blues March', 'Stablemates' and 'Killer Joe'.

In the mid-1960s Golson moved to Los Angeles and spent around a decade writing and arranging music for television and film. His credits include scores for the series *Mission: Impossible* (1966), *M*A*S*H* (1972), *The Mod Squad* and *The Partridge Family*, as well as the 1969 film *Where It's At*. He returned to New York and jazz performance in the 1970s, re-forming the Jazztet in 1982. Golson died in Manhattan on 21 September 2024, aged 95.

*Sources: people.com, udiscovermusic.com, en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, theguardian.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *M*A*S*H* (1972), Fi1m 85, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972.md)
- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), Fi1m 82, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/benny-golson