FESTIVAL PREVIEW
The Benny Golson Quartet, 7 p.m. Sunday, May 29; part of the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Friday-Sunday, May 27-29, at Piedmont Park, between Piedmont Avenue, 10th Street and Monroe Drive. Free. atlantafestivals.com/.
JAZZ FEST HIGHLIGHTS
The genre-bending Atlanta singer Joi is known for her collaborations with Dallas Austin, the Goodie Mob and Outkast; 9 p.m. Friday, May 27, Main Stage.
A native of Santiago, Chile, Camila Meza adds delicate guitar accompaniment to her voice, and lucid soloing; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28, International Stage.
The Chicago-based ensemble features seven sons of jazz trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran (Earth, Wind & Fire) who broke away from their father’s music in 1999 and have played all over the world; 9 p.m. Saturday, May 28, Main Stage.
The Atlanta trumpeter and band leader will lead a tribute to Prince and serve as the house band for late night jazz, 11 p.m. Saturday, May 28, $35/$40, at the Park Tavern, 500 10th St. N.E., Atlanta.
A local gem, Chandra Currelley has toured with Roy Ayers, graced the Atlanta Jazz Fest stage and appeared in “Madea’s Big Happy Family.” 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29, Local Stage.
Composer, lyricist, pianist, vocalist, Eliane Elias was born in Sao Paolo and brings the bright spirit of Brazil to her jazz chops. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29, International Stage.
The soulful singer brings a jazz vibe to all of his material, as evidenced on his latest, “Take Me to the Alley”; 9 p.m. Sunday, May 29, Main Stage.
We recently caught up with jazz legend Benny Golson while he was eating scrambled eggs and chili at his Manhattan home, to talk about his upcoming gig at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, which begins Friday.
Golson, 87, and his quartet will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday as the festival draws to a close.
He will share the weekend with almost 30 acts on three stages, such as Brazilian pianist and singer Eliane Elias, phenomenal California vocalist Gregory Porter and a host of others.
The 39th jazz fest should draw 125,000 visitors over the course of three days, and during the last several years, it has expanded to include events throughout the month of May.
Golson, perhaps the most venerable of those on the bill, is not only an accomplished player, but is the composer of a handful of jazz standards, such as “Killer Joe” and “I Remember Clifford,” the heartbreaking eulogy for the trumpet genius Clifford Brown, killed at age 25 in an automobile accident.
We talked with Golson about his tenure in the great composer/arranger Tadd Dameron’s band, his own career as a composer of scores for television shows, and his 10-year hiatus as a performer.
Q: How influential was Tadd Dameron?
A: When we worked together, I picked that man's brain. I'm surprised he didn't need brain surgery after I was done with him.
Q: How do you know when you’ve written a standard?
A: You don't know. How can you do that? How can you tell what that baby's going to be when he's in the womb? He could be the world's biggest junkie until he comes in and shows you.
When I wrote “Killer Joe,” my wife told me that tune would never make it. She was there during the time I was writing it, and she said it’s too repetitive. Art Farmer recorded it anyway. … You never know until the people start buying the CDs, until the people start plunking down their money to see you in the club, until people start writing about how good you are and blah, blah, blah. Otherwise, you’re not a fortune teller.
Q: Tell us about scoring the television show “Mission Impossible.”
A: That was Lalo Schifrin.
Q: He wrote the theme, but for many shows, you wrote the other 45 minutes of music, right?
A: I just miscegenated it sometimes, incorporating parts of the theme when possible. For my money, that's the best theme to any television show. I met (Schifrin) in South America before anybody ever heard of him. He would come to hear us every night when we'd play the Teatro Casino in Buenos Aires. Then I found him in New York, playing piano for Dizzy (Gillespie). Then he moved to Hollywood and everything started to happen after that.
Q: Is writing for Hollywood selling out?
A: You do what you have to do. You have to make a living. I used to drive a truck delivering furniture, and this is so much better.
Q: I understand you were on the bandstand at the Apollo when you heard about Clifford Brown’s death.
A: We were backstage, by the door, and all of a sudden there's somebody saying "Have you heard? Have you heard? Clifford Brown had been killed." We were playing that happy music and we had tears in our eyes. That was a sad time. Nobody called him Clifford during those days. Everybody called him Brownie.
Q: What made you write “I Remember Clifford”?
A: I loved him. I loved the way he played. I loved his concept. … When we finished at the Apollo, we went to L.A., and during that two-week engagement, I wrote it. During that time, I was writing a lot of songs. I wrote so many dogs that people would hate. Every tune I wrote was not a gem. But it took me the whole two weeks to write that song. I wanted every note, every interval, to be right. It was painful to write it. I've said this many times, I wish I had never written it, which means Clifford would not be killed.
Q: When you went to Hollywood, you quit playing for 10 years. Why?
A: When I went out to Hollywood, I didn't want to be thought of as a bebop player. I wanted to write serious music, not just bebop jazz, so I stopped playing and I stopped taking gigs.
Q: What did it feel like to start up again?
A: It was like getting over a stroke. Everything was gone. No chops, no concept. Music doesn't stand still, it moves on, and it moved on without me. It was like I was playing a piece of plumbing from under the sink.
Q: Doesn’t your writing provide a comfortable income? Why do you still tour?
A: If you're a player who's playing an instrument, how can you not travel? You can't make a tour playing in your living room.
Q: Do you like these outdoor festivals?
A: Some of them are like being in a frying pan. It's so hot you want to take your clothes off and play like Tarzan. What matters is the quality of the music and whether you're having fun.
