The Best of Ben Webster 1931-1944

by Ben Webster

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Blanche Calloway, Jimmy Rushing, Bob Howard, Billie Holiday (vocals); Benny Carter (alto saxophone, trumpet, clarinet); Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Buster Bailey (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Georgie Auld, Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone); Hot Lips Page, Red Allen, Roy Eldridge, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart (trumpet); Benny Morton, Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol (trombone); Benny Goodman (clarinet); Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson (piano); Walter Page, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford (bass); Cozy Cole, Gene Krupa, J.C. Heard, Sonny Greer, Sidney Catlett (drums).

Recorded between June 1931 and May 1944. Includes liner notes by Vic Bellerby.

This superb 24-song compilation brings together some of the best recordings made by the jazz giant Ben Webster. Possessed of one of the most robust and vibrant tenor tones in the jazz pantheon, Webster could easily make his saxophone sound like a thunderous force, yet his approach to ballads and downtempo numbers is astonishingly nuanced and tender. Webster is in stellar company here too, as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Billie Holiday all make appearances. Still, it is Webster's breathtaking performances on tunes like "Body and Soul" that take the prize.