In 1947, Benny joined the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band just in time to make that famous European tour that was to become the talk of the music world for some time to come. Prior to that, Benny worked with the Jay McShann Orchestra/1946-1947. He was also one of the principal soloists with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra/ 1948-1953.
In 1955, Benny moved to Stockholm, Sweden where he was to remain for four years before joining the Quincy Jones Orchestra for a world-wide tour which included six months in the U.S.A.
In 1961, he returned to Europe and became part of the Berlin Radio Orchestra, until 1963 when he moved to Munich, and the Max Greger Orchestra/ 1963-1968.
In 1969, after a brief fling at freelancing, Benny moved on to Switzerland to take a job as a lead trumpeter in the Radio Swiss Romade Orchestra which is based in Geneva.
Since 1962, Benny has also been a permanent feature in the great Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band.
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WHAT MUSICIANS THINK OF BENNY BAILEY
Benny is greatly admired by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Quincy Jones.
Quincy has said of Benny: "His sound is very personal and he completely avoids clichés. Above all, he is thrillingly himself. He is totally uninhibited and will get all kinds of sounds out of his horn to get his message across. He combines fantastic breath control, remarkable range and a flawless technique, and really composes as he plays -- like Milt Jackson -- so that his solos are not just anthologies of licks."
After more than 25 years of living abroad, Benny felt the need to return home for a bit of reorientation -- socially as well as musically.
He has been warmly received by musicians as well as the public in general. One music critic in particular seems to have succeeded in capturing much of the essence of what Benny is all about.
Larry Kart -- of the Chicago Tribune writes the following during an appearance together with Roy Haynes, Sal Nistico and Gary Bartz at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, August 15, 1980: "...The Major news of this engagement which will continue through Sunday, is the presence of Benny Bailey, a survivor of the bebop wars who has been living in Europe for almost 26 years. Only a name to most American fans, as his work has been available on only a few recordings. Bailey quickly proved that his underground reputation as fiery virtuoso hardly does him justice. The first thing to notice about Bailey's playing is his individuality within the bebop mode. While he shares with Dizzy Gillespie, a fondness for dazzlingly oblique rhythms that seem to rebound directly off the drummer's ride-cymbal beat, Bailey breaks up his lines in a personal manner. As though constantly aware of the moments at which it would be logical to breathe, he chose instead, to pause just before or after. Harmonically, too, there are no normal points of resolution in a typical Bailey solo. While he follows the changes with exceptional zeal, Bailey always keeps each tune's harmonic pattern at arms length, creating a constant sense of pressure that somehow also acquires rhythmic melodic meaning. Similarly, his hot brassy sound, with it's sudden, upper-register "flares," could just as well be taken as the point of the larger jazz 'truth.' "