1974 · Album
52nd Street; Volume 2
Recorded 1959 · Verify original label—details uncertain · Produced by Details uncertain—omitted to avoid error
Webster on 52nd Street: The Tenor in His Element
Ben Webster sounds completely at home here, trading phrases with musicians who know how to listen.
52nd Street was the place to be in the 1940s and early 1950s if you wanted to hear jazz played by people who meant it. Ben Webster knew that street cold, and this volume captures him doing what he did best—playing tenor saxophone with a warm, slightly breathy tone that could swing hard or turn tender depending on the tune. Webster had recorded with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Johnny Hodges, picking up something from each collaboration, and you hear all that experience working here.
What makes this set interesting is the company. Webster plays alongside musicians who actually listen to each other instead of just taking turns showing off. The sessions have that loose, purposeful feel of musicians who've played together before, or at least who understood the assignment. His tone—sometimes sweet, sometimes a little raspy at the edges—cuts through the mix without stepping on anyone. On ballads he's got real restraint; on the faster numbers he swings with the kind of ease that makes it look simple when it really isn't.
This isn't one of those albums where you're supposed to lose your mind over a single performance. It's more straightforward than that. Webster was a working musician making solid records, and that's exactly what you get here. If you're curious about what mainstream tenor playing sounded like when it was still about melody and conversation rather than showing technical chops, this is good evidence.
Who's playing
Oscar Pettiforddouble bass
Clyde Hartpiano
Nat Jaffepiano
Tiny Grimesguitar
Coleman Hawkinstenor saxophone
Charlie Shaverstrumpet
Denzil Bestdrums
Edmond Hallclarinet
Where next?
More by Ben Webster
Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster 1959
The Tatum Group Masterpieces 1958
At the Renaissance 1960
Soulmates 1963
The musicians on this record
Sirius 1974
Coleman Hawkins
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Oscar Pettiford Modern Quintet 1955
Oscar Pettiford
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
