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Ben Webster

Ben Webster was considered one of the "big three" of swing tenors along with Coleman Hawkins (his main influence) and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with his own distinctive growls) yet on ballads he would turn into a pussy cat and play with warmth and sentiment.

After violin lessons as a child, Webster learned how to play rudimentary piano (his neighbor Pete Johnson taught him to play blues). But after Budd Johnson showed him some basics on the saxophone, Webster played sax in the Young Family Band (which at the time included Lester Young). He had stints with Jap Allen and Blanche Calloway (making his recording debut with the latter) before joining Bennie Moten's Orchestra in time to be one of the stars on a classic session in 1932. Webster spent time with quite a few orchestras in the 1930s (including Andy Kirk, Fletcher Henderson in 1934, Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Cab Calloway, and the short-lived Teddy Wilson big band).

In 1940 (after short stints in 1935 and 1936), Ben Webster became Duke Ellington's first major tenor soloist. During the next three years he was on many famous recordings, including "Cotton Tail" (which in addition to his memorable solo had a saxophone ensemble arranged by Webster) and "All Too Soon." After leaving Ellington in 1943 (he would return for a time in 1948-1949), Webster worked on 52nd Street; recorded frequently as both a leader and a sideman; had short periods with Raymond Scott, John Kirby, and Sid Catlett; and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic during several seasons in the 1950s. Although his sound was considered out-of-style by that decade, Webster's work on ballads became quite popular and Norman Granz recorded him on many memorable sessions.

Webster recorded a classic set with Art Tatum and generally worked steadily, but in 1964 he moved permanently to Copenhagen where he played when he pleased during his last decade. Although not all that flexible, Webster could swing with the best and his tone was a later influence on such diverse players as Archie Shepp, Lew Tabackin, Scott Hamilton, and Bennie Wallace.

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Extended Analysis

The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943

Read "The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943" reviewed by Chuck Lenatti


Duke Ellington was one of the most popular and successful jazz musicians of the first half of the 20th century and according to composer Gunther Schuller and musicologist and historian Barry Kernfeld, “the most significant composer of the genre." Radio broadcasts from his residency at New York's Cotton Club beginning in 1927 extended Ellington's orchestra's national exposure and a parade of hit records, from “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in 1926 to “C Jam Blues" in 1942, among many ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Transparency: Ben Webster Meets Pinot Noir

Read "Transparency: Ben Webster Meets Pinot Noir" reviewed by Kristen Lee Sergeant


Explore how the transparency of sound and of a grape can create transcendent effects. Kristen takes some detours in zen instruments, Kansas City jazz and the surprising 23andMe results for Pinot Noir... ...

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Jazz & Juice

Transparency: Pinot Noir Meets Ben Webster

Read "Transparency: Pinot Noir Meets Ben Webster" reviewed by Kristen Lee Sergeant


Welcome back to Jazz & Juice—after last month's venture into the opulent, it's a perfect time to venture into the idea of less being more. Transparency When something is transparent, we see beyond it. In a way, transparency gives us another dimension of appreciation; we not only experience the object or the work that we are seeing through, but also what is behind it. Seeing, or hearing, through something means experiencing its causes and influences, whether that be ...

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Album Review

Ben Webster: Ben Webster's First Concert in Denmark

Read "Ben Webster's First Concert in Denmark" reviewed by Chris Mosey


This is a small piece of jazz history. In January 1965, Ben Webster, newly arrived in Europe from America, was working out where to settle down. This concert shows why he decided on Copenhagen. The album starts with Webster making a point about the playing of his former boss Duke Ellington's “In A Mellotone." Webster argues his case on piano, an instrument he played well, while brusquely growling instructions to producer Børge Roger Henrichsen. There is a ...

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Album Review

Ben Webster: In Norway

Read "In Norway" reviewed by Chris Mosey


Ben Webster refused to fly. When he visited Norway from Denmark, his adopted homeland, he went by boat and when he got there would blame his somewhat uncertain gait on his “sea legs," rather than the large amounts of alcohol he had consumed in the vessel's bar. Sometimes his “sea legs" were so bad, initial concerts had to be rescheduled. However, by 1970, when this date was recorded, Webster was 61 and slowing down just a little. ...

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Film Review

Tenor Sax Legend: Live and Intimate

Read "Tenor Sax Legend: Live and Intimate" reviewed by Michael Steinman


Ben Webster Tenor Sax Legend: Live and Intimate Shanachie 2009

Although he looked like a frog or a bullmastiff (hence his nicknames Frog and The Brute), saxophonist Ben Webster was splendidly photogenic, his emotions nakedly on his face. This DVD brings together three concert performances and one documentary from his last decade in Europe. He purrs, snarls and moans with a rhythm trio, a big band, a string section, in a casual ...

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Album Review

Ben Webster: Ben Webster: The Brute & The Beautiful

Read "Ben Webster: The Brute & The Beautiful" reviewed by Michael Steinman


Ben Webster (1909-73), perhaps the least acknowledged of the great jazz tenor saxophonists, was fortunate enough to have a varied 40-year recording career. His ballads were immensely tender and his blues and faster tunes could be nearly violent in their intensity. Hence the title of this two-disc set, a centennial issue that celebrates this musical duality. Webster's career found him in so many contexts (accompanying Billie Holiday, early and late; an integral member of the classic 1940-41 Ellington orchestra; leading ...

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Recording

Backgrounder: Ben Webster - King of the Tenors

Backgrounder: Ben Webster - King of the Tenors

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Too often we think of the post-war tenor saxophone revolution as being solely in the hands of the tough Coleman Hawkins and laid back Lester Young. There actually was a third revolutionary in the mix—Ben Webster. The breathy Ellingtonian swinger had a gruffer sound than Prez but was more romantic and seductive than Hawk. And while Webster didn't have many followers who imitated his approach, he was still a vibrant force, influencing players such as Lucky Thompson and Jimmy Forrest.  ...

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Recording

Ben Webster: Webster's Dictionary, 1970

Ben Webster: Webster's Dictionary, 1970

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of my favorite Ben Webster albums from the tail end of his career is Webster's Dictionary, recorded in London for Ronnie Scott Records in October 1970. The label was founded by Scott, the famed British tenor saxophonist and club owner, which tells you immediately it's an intelligent record. By intelligent, I mean that Scott did something special with Webster. Rather than the usual album of Ellingtonia or songbook-plus-trio fare, Scott let his saxophone buddy Pete King produce. King bought ...

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Video / DVD

Backgrounder: Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster

Backgrounder: Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were a perfect pair. Hodges played with a smooth, bluesy sweetness while Webster offset that with his breathy, husky tone. Both recorded together in the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the 1930s and '40s, and they paired off again in the 1950s on small-group dates. My favorite sessions featuring them in tandem is the so-called Jazz Cellar session of November 1960. It was recorded at a San Francisco club without an audience. ...

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TV / Film

Jazz From Sixty-One at the Monroe

Jazz From Sixty-One at the Monroe

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

On Thursday, September 15, 1960, at 10:00 p.m. in New York, CBS aired Jazz From Sixty-One on national TV. The half-hour show was broadcast from the network's Studio 61, housed at the Monroe Theatre at 1456 First Avenue, at East 76th Street. The Monroe was one of the largest theaters built on Manhattan’s Upper East Side by an indie theater operator in the early 1920s. First opened in January 1926, CBS took it over for its Studio 61 in 1951, ...

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Video / DVD

Big 10 by Ben Webster

Big 10 by Ben Webster

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

After yesterday's post, I decided to spend the day listening to Ben Webster. In his prime, Webster probably had the biggest sound of any tenor saxophonist. And on ballads, it sounded as if he was weeping through his instrument. Best of all, I love the puffs of air he let off in the spaces on ballads, like a huge truck or bus releasing its air brakes. Here's some of what I was digging yesterday: Here's Webster in Denmark in 1971 ...

Video / DVD

Art Tatum and Ben Webster

Art Tatum and Ben Webster

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

For me, jazz is divided between those who recorded with Art Tatum and those who didn't. Tatum remains king of the jazz piano—a briskly shaken cocktail of unrivaled technique, impeccable taste and a staggering ability to make you fall in love whatever song he's playing. Every one of his recordings is a gem, exhibiting daring, speed and lyricism. In solo and trio recordings, you are exposed to raw Tatum in all his centipedic glory. But in group settings, you get ...

TV / Film

Doc: Ben Webster in Europe

Doc: Ben Webster in Europe

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In this 31-minute documentary of Ben Webster in Europe in 1967, there are whimsical moments and moments of great artistry. In '67, Webster moved to Amsterdam for a year, where director Johan van der Keuken captured him on film between March and June. It's a vastly humanistic mid-length portrait that showcases Webster's sense of humor and his enormous skill on the tenor saxophone. A special thanks to Gerard Sikma in Rotterdam for sending along the link. For more on the ...

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Recording

Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges

Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In the fall of 1960, Ben Webster was on the West Coast freelancing and recording. Johnny Hodges was out there as well with the Duke Ellington Orchestra to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival. On Nov. 22, two days before Thanksgiving, Webster and Hodges were in San Francisco to record an album for the Verve label that was never released. The CD should be added to any list of jazz albums that will instantly convert non-believers into life-long fans. The ...

Video / DVD

Video: Ben Webster, 1972

Video: Ben Webster, 1972

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In the early and mid-1940s, there were three tenor saxophonists who radically changed the instrument's role in a solo setting—Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Ben Webster. Each had his own distinct sound—bossy and fluid on up-tempo tunes and seductive on ballads. Webster played with a range of bands in the early 1930s, joining Duke Ellington in 1935. By 1940, Webster was a major soloist in the band—his airy, vibrato-rich phrasing towering over the orchestra on songs like Cotton Tail. Webster ...

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Music Industry

Ben Webster's Centenary

Ben Webster's Centenary

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Since Rifftides began nearly four years ago, I have posted frequently about Ben Webster - but not frequently enough. That would be impossible. Few improvising artists have achieved Webster's level of supremacy at speaking their pieces with eloquence and brevity. I would not suggest that eloquence has fled; it is possible to be eloquent at length. But in the post-Coltrane age of solos as tests of endurance it may be unnecessary to point out that succinctness is not one of ...

Keith Pray
saxophone
Greg Osby
saxophone
Jonny Boston
saxophone
Martin Uherek
saxophone, tenor
Ruud de Vries
saxophone, tenor
Chris Gale
saxophone, tenor
Dan Wilensky
saxophone
Enric Peidro
saxophone, tenor
Greg Nathan
multi-instrumentalist
Oleksandr Kolosii
saxophone, tenor
K Quintet
band / ensemble / orchestra
The Jazz Bastards
band / ensemble / orchestra
Uffe Steen
guitar, electric
CHYKE MARTINS
saxophone
Gavin Halloran
saxophone
Wolfram Goebel
saxophone, tenor
Chuck Currie
woodwinds

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ben Webster's First...

Storyville Records
2019

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Valentine’s Day...

Dot Time Records
2018

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In Norway

Storyville Records
2013

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Videos

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