Turning Point (Benny Golson album)
# 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.

## Background

This was the first of a pair of quartet recordings by Golson in two months. 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. 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."

## Reception

Professional ratings :

| Review scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Down Beat | |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | |

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".

## Track listing

All compositions by Benny Golson except as indicated

* "How Am I to Know" (Dorothy Parker, Jack King) - 3:47
* The Masquerade Is Over"" (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) - 4:38
* "Dear Kathy" - 4:48
* "Three Little Words" (Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar) - 4:38
* "Turning Point" - 3:56
* "Stella by Starlight" (Victor Young, Ned Washington) - 4:50
* "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
