Jazz Round Midnight

by Ben Webster

Product Description:

JAZZ ROUND MIDNIGHT is also available as part of the 3-CD box set JAZZ 'ROUND MIDNIGHT: GREAT SAX (Verve 533 346), which also includes complete albums by Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan.

Personnel includes: Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone); Al Young (flute); Oscar Peterson, Billy Strayhorn, Teddy Wilson (piano); Herb Ellis (guitar); Ray Brown, Chet Amsterdam, Milt Hinton (bass); Louis Bellson, Dave Bailey (drums).

Includes liner notes by Peter Pullman.

Ben Webster is probably best known for his eloquent ballad playing. On JAZZ 'ROUND MIDNIGHT, we are treated to no less than 15 ballads, all of which are performed superbly. Webster is one of the great jazz romantics, and his sultry ballad style stirs the heart and soul with every phrase. It's not just the way he caresses each note, or the thick airy sound he gets on his tenor sax; it's the lyrical, almost voice-like character of his playing that makes all of these songs so memorable.

Backed by such notables as Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown, Webster's renditions of "You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me," "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "We'll Be Together Again," and others, sparkle with vitality, romance, and warmth. Finally, Webster's idol, Coleman Hawkins, sits in on "Prisoner of Love" making this CD sparkle even that much more. One of the great jazz ballad albums, JAZZ 'ROUND MIDNIGHT is a must for any candlelight dinner.