Ben Webster

The Soul Of Ben Webster

Ben Webster (1909-1973) was living in Los Angeles throughout the

Fifties and early Sixties and although he found some appreciation of his

music in California (and was frequently recorded by Norman Granz, as

proven by this and many other albums), he was rarely heard beyond

the West Coast. His resurgence began in 1963 when a once a week

gig at the Shalimar in New York was extended to six weeks, which

led to concerts and further club dates at Birdland and the Half Note.

Although it seems hard to imagine, at the age of 56, Ben had never

been to Europe once in his whole career. That would change when he

travelled to Scandinavia to play concerts, plus an engagement at Jazzhus

Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The ambiance there was always

extraordinary, and the musicians invariably found it easy to relax in the

completely informal atmosphere. Webster moved to Europe in 1964 and

remained there until his death in 1973.

BEN WEBSTER, tenor sax

ART FARMER, trumpet

HAROLD ASHBY, tenor sax

JIMMY JONES, piano

MUNDELL LOWE, guitar

MILT HINTON, bass

DAVE BAILEY, drums

New York, July 1958.

Original session produced by Norman Granz.

*BONUS TRACK:

Ben Webster (ts), Tony Scott (cl), Mac Ceppos, David Novales,

Mischa Russell (vln), Richard Dickler (viola), Rudy Sims (cello),

Billy Strayhorn (p, arr, cond), George Duvivier (b), Louie Bellson (d).

New York, May 28, 1954.