Ben Webster Valentine's Day 1964! Live

Ben Webster
Valentine's Day 1964! Live
Dot Time Records

"Valentine's Day 1964! Live" is one of Ben Webster's last performances in New York City before he left the USA for Europe, where he spent the final nine years of his life. On this recording, he leads a quartet of Dave Frishberg on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Grady Tate on drums.

It is a program with several Duke Ellington numbers mixed in with blues and ballads. Webster's brawny tenor sax is well recorded and in the front, although this is not a perfectly engineered recording. As expected, Webster is superb on ballads, including an exquisite "Chelsea Bridge," a marvelous "Danny Boy," and a rhapsodic "Tenderly." His energetic playing animates "Cotton Tail," one of his features with Ellington two decades earlier. An original 'Ben's Blues," opens with Frishberg playing some two-fisted piano before Webster enters with his big tone. A quote of "Without a Song" is incorporated in Webster's solo here, with Davis' bass also quite evident. Davis also anchors the rendition of "52nd Street Theme," with Frishberg laying out during Webster's solo.

Renditions of Juan Tizol's "Caravan" open and close this recording. The opening version is taken at a quick tempo, while the closing performance is at a more relaxed pace, which perhaps better showcases his tone and sound. This recording is a welcome, although hardly indispensable, addition to Webster's legacy. This recording can be purchased as a CD from Dot Time Records at dottimerecords.com. One can buy a digital download at bandcamp.com, https://dottimerecords.bandcamp.com/album/ben-webster-valentines-day-1964-live.

I purchased this as a download. Here is a video of Ben Webster playing "Over the Rainbow."

Take 5 With Jimmy Witherspoon

While I only had the pelasure to see Jimmy Witherspoon perform once live, I was long a fan of his recordings. while often compared to his idol, Big Joe Turner, he was also a terrific Ballad singer. For this short playlist, I start with what was a major hit for him, "Ain't Nobody's Business," with Jay McShann on piano.

Spoon was one of the blue singers who often was backed by some of the greatest jazz players. His recordings with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were special. He heis live at the Renaissance Club in LA with Jimmy Rowles on piano and Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax doing Leroy Carr's "How Long How Long Blues."

 The first Jimmy Witherspoon album I purchased was "Evenin' Blues," on Prestige. The session included T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on tenor sax. Here is "Money Is Getting Cheaper," a remake of "Times Getting Tougher Then Tough," which I believe was the first track of this album.

I would be remiss if I did not include a selection from his recordings with blues-rock guitarist, Robben Ford. What might have seemed an unlikely partnership, was actually one that worked quite well. Here they do a song spoon had recorded a number of times before that was also a hot for Big Joe Turner, "S.K. Blues."

Finally, here is a set of Spoon with a group led by former Count Basie saxophonist, Earle Warren, live in Europe. Enjoy.

Ben Webster's Tenor Sax Magic At Ronnie Scott's, 1964

Ben Webster is generally recognized as one of the major pioneers and stylists of the tenor saxophone, whose beefy, brawny, yet sensuous tone and attack gave him a signature, recognizable sound which influenced other tenor players such as Dexter Gordon (who named a son after Webster), Paul Gonsalves, and Harold Ashby. His breathy vibrato was adapted by Albert Ayler and, later, David Murray. He was a player of driving swing as well as a tender balladeer.


A combination of lesser jobs being available to swing era stylists in the early sixties and his reputation for a volatile personality led to less work stateside, and at the urging of friends like Milt Hinton, he took a boat and sailed to England where he was booked by Ronnie Scott at Scott's legendary club. No one knew at the time that Webster would never return to the United States. But in December, 1964, Webster began an engagement backed by a trio with the superb pianist Stan Tracey. The performances, his first in Europe, were recorded and have been issued by the European Storyville label, At Ronnie Scott 1964: The Punch.


Its a wonderful collection of performances as Tracey helps spur on Webster, who Scott introduces as one of the kings of the tenor sax. Opening is Blues in B Flat, a brisk, swinging rendition of a blues Webster first recorded for Emarcy as Randle's Island, displaying his strength as a blues player (not unexpected given his Kansas City background and his work with Jimmy Witherspoon amongst others). It is followed by two superb ballad performances. Stardust, which was a feature for Webster in the Ellington band and remained a central part of his repertoire (and the rendition here is typical for him) and is followed by Gone With the Wind, which he had recorded with Art Tatum, and here he displays the velvety tone he often brought to a ballad.


The liner notes make a deal out of his renditions of Charlie Parker's Confirmation (inexplicably credited to Dizzy Gillespie) and Gillespie's Night in Tunisia, two bebop classics. One shouldn't be surprised at how Webster strong Webster sounds here. Confirmation after all is one of Parker's original blues, and Webster was quite at home with the blues. Also heard is a spirited How High the Moon, which after all was the source of another Parker classic bebop number, Ornithology. There is a tendency to perhaps make the gulf between swing and bebop broader than it was, and the better swing musicians might not play in the bebop style, but they could certainly play convincingly in the style.


There are also other strong ballad performances on this including My Romance and a especially lovely Over the Rainbow. The album closes with a spirited Cottontail, with Tracey's spare accompaniment helping propel Webster, before taking his own thoughtful solo. This engagement at Ronnie Scott’s was the beginning of a fruitful time for Webster. 47 years later Webster's music from then still strongly resonates.


I purchased this CD.

Joe Williams Always Had a Good Time

The late Joe Williams was one of the great male big band singers from his association with Count Basie, and later remained an extraordinary vocalist of blues, ballads and standards. The following review appeared in the January-February 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 279). I likely received my review copy from that publication

Hyena has just issued a posthumorous release by the great Joe Williams, Havin’ a Good Time! Recorded at Pio’s in Providence, Rhode Island in the snowy winter of 1964, this tape was among the items that the Estate of Joe Williams gave the Hamilton (NY) College jazz Archive.


This is a club recording the great blues and ballad singer backed by the Junior Mance Trio (Bob Cranshaw on bass and MIckey Roker on drums) with Ben Webster joining the proceedings. Sound is generally good with Williams’ voice and Webster’s sax having a definite presence in the mix. The backing trio can be felt if not as prominent listening to this, although Mance has plenty of space for his strong, bluesy piano playing.

There is a real nice mix of material opening with Duke Ellington number Just a Sittin’ and A Rockin’ , using the lyrics of the Delta Rhythm Boys 1946 rendering of this number and a nice song for Webster who took the solo on Ellington’s original. Its followed by Kansas City Blues, Williams’ rendition of the Pete Johnson-Big Joe Turner blues classic, Piney Brown Blues, with Williams pointedly saluting the Boss of the Blues in his intro. While not sure he knew all the words of the standard That’s All, Williams more than gamely handles it for the request of the audience member who braved the blizzard conditions for the show. Also on the program are a couple of Fats Waller classics, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose, some other standards and Williams’ hit Alright, Ok, You Win.


I suspect the presence of Webster is a factor in the release of this material which is a welcome addition to Williams discography. This is a release that is consistently enjoyable, if perhaps not an essential release. It does lead to anticipation of further releases of Williams recordings from the Hamilton College Jazz Archives.

Jack Towers RIP- Recorded Legendary Ellington Band at Fargo ND

Word has spread slowly that Jack Towers passed away December 23, 2010 at the age of 96. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Towers was known as one of the premiere restorers of musical recordings in the United States. This reputation was based on recordings he and a friend Dick Burris made of the Duke Ellington Orchestra playing a dance at the Crystal Ballroom in Fargo, North Dakota, on November 7, 1940 where they had hauled a bulky Presto-S disc cutter to record the Ellington Orchestra playing before around 600 young people. 


The evening’s music was captured on 16-inch aluminum discs coated with acetate that enabled the recording of approximately 15 minutes per side, as opposed to the roughly 3 minutes that fit on an average 78 rpm recording. And while Towers, friends and some insiders (such as some members of the Ellington Band) knew about these recordings, the release of a double vinyl album in 1980 was a revelation to jazz and music historians capturing a wide ranging repertoire of the Ellington Band in an informal setting.


The release of the Ellington Fargo Recordings was awarded a Grammy in 1980 for best Big Band Recording. It included some fragments of songs as well as extended performances of others known only from shorter studio recordings. It was also recorded with arguably the finest edition of the Ellington Orchestra which included Jimmy Blanton on bass and Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, along with such Ellington stalwarts as Barney Bigard on clarinet, Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone, Rex Stewart on trumpet, Harry Carney on baritone sax, Tricky ‘Sam’ Nanton and Juan Tizol on trombone and Sonny Greer on drums. Ray Nance had just joined the band, replacing the recently departed Cootie Williams.

Original CD release of the Ellington Fargo Recordings

And the band sounds great on any number of features. There is the great half valve playing on Stewart on “Boy Meets Horn,” the fiery “Harlem Air Shaft,” the exuberant “Koko,” and so much more. While the opening of “Stardust” is missing, Ben Webster is reported to have carried a disc with his performance for the rest of his life, and it was a performance that he would return to many times after leaving Ellington. The sound is very good except the vocal microphone (from which the Duke announced some tunes) is off the recording mike so that Ivy Anderson’s vocals are low in the mix.


In the CD era, the Fargo Recordings have been issued on CD including some segments of performances that previously were not issued on the original 2-LP release. There are some criticisms about the release of the complete material even half minute fragments, but the current CD release is of an historic document. In any event, today, folks can upload to their computer and edit our those selections they do not wish to listen to. It is currently available from the Storyville label from Europe both on “The Duke At Fargo 1940 Special 60th Anniversary Edition” and as part of the 8-CD “The Duke Box,” a collection of radio air-checks and concert recordings. These are recordings I have listened to many times and will do so many more.

While this is the centerpiece for Jack Towers, he was a radio broadcaster for many years, working for the USDA and became head of radio broadcasting. After he retired from the USDA in 1974, he devoted himself to remastering rare recordings, primarily of jazz groups including the legendary Dean Benedetti recordings of Charlie Parker, and rare works by Count Basie, Benny Goodman and other greats. His legacy is great among Jazz collectors and enthusiasts of which I am one of many.

Some material for this blog was based on Harvey Siders’ JazzTimes review, http://jazztimes.com/articles/12323-the-duke-at-fargo-1940-special-60th-anniversary-edition-duke-ellington-and-his-famous-orchestra and from Matt Schudel’s December 28, 2010 Washington Post obituary,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/28/AR2010122804198.html.

What does sex sound like?

There is something pretty sensuous about Ben Webster's sound on the tenor as this ballad shows.