The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Art Farmer and Benny Golson

June 6th, 2025

…..The Naples, Italy native Giovanni Piesco is an Amsterdam-based photographer who since 1985 has taken photographs of the famous and the unknown, in places and in ritual, consistently demonstrating a flair for capturing the essence of human character.

…..Among his passions is jazz music and the musicians who create it. Beginning in 1990, Giovanni began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world.

…..Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition features the May 10, 1996 photos of the tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Golson, and the February 13, 1997 photos of trumpet and flugelhorn player Art Farmer.

Editor’s Note: Following Giovanni’s photos is a brief feature on my recent trip to Amsterdam, where I met Giovanni and attended a concert at the Bimhuis by the Lux Quartet

Click here to view previous editions of The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco

All photos © Giovanni Piesco

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Art Farmer
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Benny Golson

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Art Farmer and Benny Golson’s respective careers came to prominence during the bebop era, and were influential in jazz music for decades. In addition to leading their own bands, in 1959 they co-founded The Jazztet, a sextet that always featured them with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted until 1962, and helped to launch the careers of, among others, the pianist McCoy Tyner. Farmer and Golson revived the group in 1982 and it again toured extensively. Each generation of the group recorded six albums, which were released on a variety of labels.

The work had an enduring impact on jazz. Two examples: In an effort to develop his own sound, Farmer switched from trumpet to the flugelhorn in the early 1960’s, and his warm and effective tone helped establish it as a soloist’s instrument in jazz music. As a composer, Golson contributed countless tunes that have become jazz standards, among them “I Remember Clifford,” “Stablemates,” “Along Came Betty,” and “Killer Joe.”

Watch a 1964 film of Art Farmer performing “Sometime Ago,” with Jim Hall (guitar); Steve Swallow (bass); and Walter Perkins (drums).

Listen to the 1958 recording of Benny Golson playing his composition “I Remember Clifford,” with Golson (saxophone); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Ray Bryant (piano); Percy Heath (bass); and Philly Joe Jones (drums). [Universal Music Group]

Watch a film of the 1982 live performance of The Jazztet at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with Farmer (flugelhorn); Golson (tenor saxophone); Curtis Fuller (trombone); Albert “Tootie” Heath (drums); Rufus Reid (bass); and Mickey Tucker (piano). .

Click here to visit Farmer’s Wikipedia page, and click here for Golson’s.

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photo by Rhonda R. Dorsett

Editor’s Note: My recent trip to Europe included a stop in Amsterdam, where, before attending a performance at the Bimhuis by the Lux Quartet, my companion Rhonda R. Dorsett and I met Giovanni Piesco over a beer. A wonderful visit with a really talented, warm human being.

The Bimhuis is an awesome venue, a gorgeous space with brilliant acoustics. I snapped this photo of the Lux Quartet (Allison Miller on drums, Myra Milford on piano, and Dayna Stephens on saxophone, and Nick Dunston on bass).

photo by Rhonda R. Dorsett

I was fortunate to meet Allison Miller following her show. Allison is a splendid drummer and a giant figure in contemporary jazz..

You can view the entire hour-long performance I attended (via Bimhuis TV) here:

Or, if time doesn’t permit, I highly recommend you check out this video of her band Lux Quartet performing her song “Congratulations and Condolences”.