Ben Webster

Among the foremost swing-era tenor saxophonists, Ben Webster ranked with Coleman Hawkins—his chief inspiration—and Lester Young in an elite trio. On up-tempo numbers his sound turned gritty and hoarse, marked by personal snarls, whereas ballads drew from him a gentle, heartfelt manner. After early violin study, Webster acquired basic keyboard ability, absorbing blues technique from neighbor Pete Johnson. Once Budd Johnson demonstrated saxophone fundamentals, Webster took up the horn in the Young Family Band, then featuring Lester Young among its members. Brief engagements followed with Jap Allen and Blanche Calloway, the latter marking his recording debut, before he entered Bennie Moten’s Orchestra and emerged as a standout on its landmark 1932 session. During the 1930s he moved through several ensembles, among them those of Andy Kirk, Fletcher Henderson in 1934, Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Cab Calloway, and the short-lived Teddy Wilson big band.

In 1940, after earlier temporary appearances in 1935 and 1936, Webster became Duke Ellington’s inaugural major tenor soloist. Across the next three years he appeared on numerous celebrated dates, including “Cotton Tail,” which featured both his signature improvisation and a saxophone-ensemble passage he arranged, as well as “All Too Soon.” Following his departure from Ellington in 1943—he would rejoin briefly in 1948 and 1949—Webster worked on 52nd Street, recorded often as leader and sideman alike, enjoyed short spells with Raymond Scott, John Kirby, and Sid Catlett, and toured several seasons with Jazz at the Philharmonic in the 1950s. Though his idiom had begun to wane in popularity that decade, his ballad interpretations found broad favor, prompting Norman Granz to capture him on numerous distinguished sessions. A classic encounter with Art Tatum highlighted his output, and steady activity continued until Webster settled permanently in Copenhagen in 1964, performing thereafter only as inclination dictated during his final decade. His singular timbre would later shape players as varied as Archie Shepp, Lew Tabackin, Scott Hamilton, and Bennie Wallace.