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Ben Webster
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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Transparency: Ben Webster Meets Pinot Noir
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... ...
read moreTransparency: Pinot Noir Meets Ben Webster
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 ...
read moreBen Webster: Ben Webster's First Concert in Denmark
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 ...
read moreBen Webster: In Norway
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. ...
read moreTenor Sax Legend: Live and Intimate
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 ...
read moreBen Webster: Ben Webster: The Brute & The Beautiful
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 ...
read moreBen Webster: Centennial Celebration
by Martin Gladu
Remembered for his seminal solos on such classics as “Cotton Tail" and “All Too Soon" as much as for his historic clashes with boss Duke Ellington, hot-tempered saxophonist Ben Webster's legacy truly stands the test of time. The year 2009, being the centennial of the tenor titan's birth, Concord Records marks the occasion with this 9-track compilation taken from four different sessions spanning the years 1956 to 1963.Borrowed from Soulmates (Riverside, 1963)--his collaboration with Austrian piano whiz Joe ...
read moreBen Webster: Webster's Dictionary, 1970
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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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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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Jazz From Sixty-One at the Monroe
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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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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 ...
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Art Tatum and Ben Webster
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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 ...
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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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Ben Webster + Ahmad Jamal
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Jazz From Studio 61 was a CBS show hosted by Robert Herridge that aired on February 15, 1960. It was part of the network's Herridge-produced Robert Herridge Theater series. For this half-hour jazz program, Herridge brought together two groups—one led by tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and the other by pianist Ahmad Jamal. In the past, I've only found this show chopped up into segments on YouTube. Now it looks like Don Kaart has uploaded a top-quality print of the entire ...
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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 ...
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Ben Webster: Europe, 1967
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In 1967, Dutch director Johan van der Keuken filmed tenor saxophonist Ben Webster when he lived in the Rivierenbuurt section of Amsterdam. In Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe, we see Webster performing, sitting in a cafe and talking to his landlady. In other words, it's not a conventional documentary but more like slices of life, giving us an up-close feel for Webster going about his business. Also featured is Don Byas. [Pictured above: Ben Webster in 1967] A big ...
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Ben Webster
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Born: March 27, 1909
Died: September 20, 1973
