Turning Point (Benny Golson album)

Turning Point is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in late 1962 and originally released on the Mercury label.^[1]

Turning Point
Studio album by Benny Golson
Released	1962
Recorded	October 30 & 31 and November 1, 1962 New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	34:07
Label	Mercury MG 20801
Producer	Kay Norton
Benny Golson chronology
Another Git Together (1962) Turning Point (1962) Free (1962)

Background

This was the first of a pair of quartet recordings by Golson in two months.^[2] Golson was displeased with his playing at the time: "I was frustrated, because I didn't know how I wanted to sound"; he soon stopped playing, and did not resume for seven or eight years.^[2] The title, according to Golson, "indicates my frustration with [producer] Kay Norton and Art [Farmer, co-leader of the Jazztet], because we had reached a point where we wanted to go in different directions."^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Down Beat	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

The Allmusic review states, "this quartet set for tenor saxophonist Benny Golson was the beginning of the close of an era. Within a year, Golson would be working full-time as a writer in the studios, and he de-emphasized his playing until making a comeback in the late 1970s".^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Benny Golson except as indicated

1. "How Am I to Know" (Dorothy Parker, Jack King) - 3:47
2. The Masquerade Is Over"" (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) - 4:38
3. "Dear Kathy" - 4:48
4. "Three Little Words" (Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar) - 4:38
5. "Turning Point" - 3:56
6. "Stella by Starlight" (Victor Young, Ned Washington) - 4:50
7. "Alone Together" (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) - 7:30

• Recorded in New York City on October 30 (tracks 4, 5 & 7), October 31 (tracks 2 & 6) and November 1 (tracks 1 & 3), 1962

Personnel

• Benny Golson - tenor saxophone
• Wynton Kelly - piano
• Paul Chambers - bass
• Jimmy Cobb - drums