At the turn of the decade the quintet and quartet sessions of Philadelphia's tenor saxophonist Benny Golson (1929) introduced a number of hard-bop talents, who benefited from Golson's talent in composing bluesy ballads. New York Scene (october 1957), with the soulful Whisper Not, featured trumpeter Art Farmer, pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers. The Modern Touch (december 1957), with the eleven-minute Blues On Down, had Kelly, Chambers, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and drummer Max Roach. The Other Side (november 1958) debuted trombonist Curtis Fuller and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Fuller remained for Gone (june 1959), with Blues After Dark, Groovin' (august 1959), with the lengthy My Blues House and Stroller and the stellar rhythm section of pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Blakey, Gettin' With It (december 1959), with the lengthy Bub Hurd's Blues and a new rhythm section of pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor, and the fascinating experiment of Take a Number from 1 to 10 (december 1960), whose ten numbers are interpreted by progressively larger groups, starting with a sax solo and ending with Time for a tentet (including trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and pianist Cedar Walton).

Propelled by Golson's compositions and arrangements, Benny Golson's major project, the Jazztet, became the mainstream hard-bop experience of the early 1960s. The line-up for Meet The Jazztet (february 1960), containing Blues March (already recorded in 1958 by trumpeter Blue Mitchell) and Killer Joe, featured three outstanding horn players, with trombonist Curtis Fuller and trumpeter Art Farmer, and a rhythm section with pianist McCoy Tyner. Big City Sounds (september 1960) retained only Farmer and Golson and replaced Tyner with Cedar Walton. Walton left and trombonist Grachan Moncur joined for Here And Now (march 1962) and Another Git Together (june 1962).

The Jazztet dissolved in 1962.

Golson ended his recording career (before becoming a full-time arranger) by wasting an all-start cast (including Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Eric Dolphy, Hubbard, Fuller) for a pop-jazz experiment, Pop + Jazz = Swing (april 1962), and the Miles Davis-ian rhythm section of Kelly, Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb for the mediocre Turning Point (november 1962), and the rhythm section of Flanagan, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Art Taylor for the slightly better (but certainly not "free") Free (december 1962).

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