The Changing Face Of Harlem (24/48 vinyl rip)

An utterly terrific set that would cost a minor fortune to replicate! Almost like taking a walk down 52nd Street in 1944. The close proximity of recording dates on the majority of these sessions (mid to late 1944) suggests to me that they are part of the rush to the studios at the end of the first musician's union ban on recording.

"This double LP from 1976 features 32 selections taken from the later years of World War II, when swing was gradually turning into bop. There are sessions by the Buck Ram All-Stars, altoist Pete Brown, trumpeter Hot Lips Page, tenor-saxophonists Ben Webster and Herbie Fields, guitarist Tiny Grimes, singer Miss Rhapsody and trumpeter Benny Harris. The sidemen feature many illustrious names including trumpeters Frankie Newton and Emmett Berry, trombonists Tyree Glenn and Vic Dickenson, altoist Earl Bostic, Don Byas, Budd Johnson and Ike Quebec on tenors, vibraphonist Red Norvo, pianists Teddy Wilson and Johnny Guarnieri and (on two of the Tiny Grimes recordings) altoist Charlie Parker. Since the contents of this very enjoyable and historical two-fer have not been coherently reissued on CD, this is one to search for." AMG

Ben Webster - There Is No Greater Love (1965)

On this rare studio session of Webster playing with a trio he usually worked with live at the Montmarte Jazzhus in Copenhagen, we hear Webster and his cohorts in a set comprised mostly of ballads. Typically, Webster sounds superb on these standard tunes. Readings of "I Got It Bad [And That Ain't Good]," "Yesterdays," "There is No Greater Love," and "Autumn Leaves" are particularly inspired. Webster's airy, yet thick tone is one that many saxophonists have tried to copy for generations. However, while many of his imitators can offer decent versions of his style, there is no one who can truly evoke meaning from a melody like Webster. One of the great instrumental balladeers in history, Webster, even in 1965, played with a passion for music that was truly remarkable. Not all jazzbos can boast such a high level of musicianship late in their career. ~ CDUniverse.com

Black Lion, BLCD-760151, 1987

Recorded 5^th September, 1965 at Metronome Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark

Personnel:

Ben Webster - Tenor Saxophone

Kenny Drew - Piano

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - Bass

Alex Riel - Drums

Track Listing:

1. Easy To Love {Cole Porter} (4:23)

2. Stardust {Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish} (3:49)

3. There Is No Greater Love {Isham Jones, Marty Symes} (4:39)

4. Close Your Eyes {Bernice Petkere} (5:03)

5. What's New? {Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart} (4:29)

6. I Got It Bad [And That Ain't Good] {Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster} (4:57)

7. Yesterdays {Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern} (5:51)

8. Autumn Leaves {Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer} (5:19)

Credits:

Producer - Alan Bates

Engineer - Birger Svan

Liner Notes - Alun Morgan

Note:

Like many Black Lion releases the sound quality is not always desirable. I have ripped, cleaned and optimized maintaining integrity.

Johnny Hodges - Blues A Plenty (1958)

Review by Steve Arloff:

When you listen to this disc you have to keep reminding yourself that these were recorded over 50 years ago and that Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges first recorded together in Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1935! This is a fabulous disc that shows off the talents of both Johnny and Ben to perfection. Johnny Hodges had a beautifully silky smooth singing tone while Ben's tenor was gutsy and raunchy but nevertheless had its soft edge too at times. The record kicks off with a really lovely example of I didn't know about you with Johnny's magic alto exemplifying the phrase `laid back' and Billy Strayhorn's piano framing the whole beautifully and eloquently. Ben joins in on track two together with Roy Eldridge and Vic Dickenson for the bluesy Cool your motor. Johnny solos again in Gone with the wind in a lovely dreamy style. Eldridge's trumpet screams out to kick off Honey Hill and Vic Dickenson's trombone gives us another taste of his mastery of this instrument with Ben's muscular tone on tenor taking the baton from Vic and then passing it to Eldridge; everyone gets his turn in the spotlight here apart from the rhythm section who simply perform sterling support in the background. Track 5 is the album's title number Blues-a-plenty, a Johnny Hodges original. It is a great little song that is a brilliant demonstration of the talents of all these wonderful musicians who have carved their well merited place in jazz history. If you ever want to be lulled to sleep to jazz try the gorgeous Don't take your love from me with Johnny's soporifically breathy blowing sending you happily off to the land of nod. There are no duds on this disc and other highlights include the hugely popular and well covered Ellington, Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer composition Satin Doll which I'm willing to bet you'll never have heard in a more lyrically perfect version with Hodges' singing tone so incredibly voice like. If you tried the suggested sleeping pill in the shape of Don't take your love from me you'll have another chance to drift off again with its alternate take included as track 10 in a slightly longer version. With Reelin' and rockin' you also get two takes and two chances to enjoy Dickenson's beautifully mellow trombone. On the second take you also get some amusing banter from the recording engineer when, the band having decided after a few bars that they'll start again in a different chord, he says he'll release the intro on its own as a single!

Roy Eldridge (t) Vic Dickenson (tb) Johnny Hodges (as) Ben Webster (ts) Billy Strayhorn (p) Jimmy Woode (b) Sam Woodyard (d)
NYC, April 5, 1958

01 - I Didn't Know About You
02 - Cool Your Motor
03 - Gone With The Wind
04 - Honey Hill
05 - Blues-A-Plenty
06 - Don't Take Your Love From Me
07 - Saturday Afternoon Blues
08 - Satin Doll
09 - Reelin' And Rockin'

MGV 8358 also issued on Verve MGVS 6123.

Americans In Europe (1966-7)

Re-upped from the Crypt

An album of out-takes from LPs issued by the UK Fontana label in the late 60s and, as far as I know, never issued on CD. Included are two extra tracks from the Jimmy Witherspoon recording from the Bull's Head, Barnes that I posted earlier. Overall, there's some great straight ahead jazz here - enjoy!

01 - Bud Meets Eddie (Bud Freeman & Eddie Miller)
02 - Things Are Getting Tougher Than Tough (Jimmy Witherspoon)
03 - Time On My Hands (Earl Hines)
04 - Laura (Bud Freeman)
05 - I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (Wild Bill Davison)
06 - Diane (Eddie Miller)
07 - Can't We Talk It Over (Earl Hines)
08 - I'll Be So Glad (Jimmy Witherspoon)
09 - Church House Blues (Sir Charles Thompson)
10 - La Rosita (Ben Webster)

All tracks recorded in London 1966-7, apart from track 9 recorded in Paris.

Ben Webster - Meets Bill Coleman (1967)

The U.S. jazz scene of the late '60s was dominated by such disparate artists as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, and others. The swing players from the '30s and '40s were out of vogue in America, but in Europe audiences still flocked to see them; hence this recording session features a British rhythm section backing tenor legend Ben Webster and trumpeter and singer Bill Coleman. While this music has no surprises, it's delightful in its relaxed swing and joyous delivery. Webster and Coleman play well off each other and the band supports the two horn men with real panache. In particular, the Django Reinhardt-esque guitar playing of Jim Douglas adds a European flair to the proceedings. Highlights include the upbeat "But Not For Me" and the delicate ballad, "For All We Know." ~ by Rovi, allmusic.com

Black Lion, BLCD-760141, 1990

Recorded 27th April, 1967 at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, England

Track Listing:

1. Proud Horn {Bill Coleman, Ben Webster} (4:56)

2. Moonglow {Eddie DeLange, Will Hudson, Irving Mills} (5:06)

3. Satin Doll {Ellington, Mercer, Strayhorn} (4:54)

4. For Max {Bill Coleman, Ben Webster} (6:22)

5. But Not For Me [Take 3] {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (4:23)

6. But Not For Me [Take 4] {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (4:00)

7. For All We Know {Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis} (5:41)

8. Sunday {Chester Conn, Nick Drake, Benny Krueger, Ned Miller, Jule Styne} (4:44)

9. Bill Coleman {Bill Coleman, Ben Webster} (6:13)

Track 2 - Previously Unreleased

Track 6 - Previously Unreleased Alternative Take

Personnel:

Ben Webster - Tenor Saxophone

Bill Coleman - Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Vocals

Jim Douglas - Guitar

Fred Hunt - Piano

Roy Rae - Bass

Lennie Hastings - Drums

This one is for PoppaChubby, he's a great lover of Swing. The music provided here was taken from the Limited Edition CD not available now. Like many Black Lion releases the sound quality can be poor. In this instance the disc was ripped to wav and optimized prior to re-encoding to FLAC for this post. The results speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Ben Webster on Black Lion

This post is a combined effort between grumpy, Tom Ryan and myself.  For newer followers, Tom Ryan is a friend of ours with a deep collection, and an even bigger heart.  Most recently, we featured several of his Diz sides, so make sure to show him some love in the comments.

I can safely say that with all of these albums you would have a wonderful weekend of jazz.  Webster's time in Europe was possibly his most productive, turning out wonderful sides with some of the finest local players. 

Enjoy!!!

_________________________________________________________________________

Ben Webster - Duke's In Bed

Black Lion BLP 30137

     1965

Bass – Henrik Hartmann, Hugo Rasmussen, Niels -     Henning Orsted Pederson

Drums – Alex Riel, Hans Nymand

Piano – Kenny Drew, Niels Jorgen Steen

Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster, Ole Kongsted Trombone – John Darville

Trumpet – Arnved Meyer

 

1.  What's I'm Gotchere

2.  Close Your Eyes

3.  There's No Greater Love

4.  Brother John's Blues

5.  Stompy Jones

6.  Nancy, With The Laughing Face

7.  I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

8.  Duke's In Bed

 

____________________________________________________________________________

Ben Webster - Atmosphere For Lover's And Thieves
Black Lion Records BLP 30105
1965

 

Bass – Henrik Hartmann, Hugo Rasmussen, Niels -     Henning Orsted Pederson

Drums – Alex Riel, Hans Nymand

Piano – Kenny Drew, Niels Jorgen Steen

Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster, Ole Kongsted Trombone – John Darville

Trumpet – Arnved Meyer

1. Blue Light

2. Stardust

3. What's New

                                                                                  4. Autumn Leaves

                                                                                  5. Easy To Love

                                                                                      6. My Romance

                                                                                      7. Yesterdays

                                                                                      8. Days Of Wine And Roses

_____________________________________________________________________________

Ben Webster and Bill Coleman - Swingin' In London

Black Lion 2460-128

1967 

Bass – Ron Rae
Drums – Lennie Hastings
Guitar – Jim Douglas
Piano – Fred Hunt
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B3)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Bill Coleman (2) (tracks: A1 to A4, B2, B3)

1.  Bill Coleman   
2.  But Not For Me   
3.  Pound Horn    
4.  Sunday    
5.  For All We Know    
6.  Satin Doll    
7.  For Max    

___________________________________________________________________________



Ben Webster - Stormy Weather
Black Lion
1965

Ben Webster (ts)
Kenny Drew (p)
Niels-Henning Oersted Pedersen (b)
Alex Riel (d)

01 - Our Love is Here To Stay    06 - I Can't Get Started
02 - My Romance                       07 - The Theme
03 - Blues for Herluf                    08 - Friskin' The Frog
04 - Londonderry Air                  09 - Stormy Weather
05 - Mack The Knife                   10 - Teach Me Tonight
                                       
___________________________________________________________________________

Ben Webster - Gone With The Wind

Black Lion

1965

Ben Webster (ts)
Kenny Drew (p)
Niels-Henning Oersted Pedersen (b)
Alex Riel (d)

1. Perdido
2. Yesterdays
3. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter)
4. Set Call
5. Sunday
6. That's All
7. Gone With the Wind
8. Over the Rainbow
9. Indiana
10. Misty
11. Set Call