1959 · Album
Ben Webster and Associates
Recorded October 16, 1957 · Verify from original album documentation · Produced by Verify from original album documentation
Two Tenors in Conversation, Mid-Career
Webster and Hawkins trade phrases like old friends settling an argument over drinks.
By 1957, Ben Webster was already a seasoned player with a substantial track record, but this session—recorded October 16 with Coleman Hawkins—finds him in the middle of his career, neither emerging nor fading, simply doing some of his best work alongside one of jazz's most formidable voices. This is not a debut statement or a farewell gesture. It's a peak moment, the kind that only happens when two masters meet with enough mutual respect to listen hard.
The rhythm section built around Oscar Peterson provides the backbone, with Ray Brown on bass and Jo Jones on drums keeping everything grounded and swinging. Roy Eldridge on trumpet and Budd Johnson on tenor saxophone round out the front line, but the album's real conversation happens between Webster's warm, vocalistic tenor and Hawkins's raw, cutting tone. They don't compete; they answer each other. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave this one a perfect four stars, and there's good reason—the interplay feels earned, the kind of thing that only happens when both players know exactly what the other is thinking.
If you already know Webster's ballad work or his blues playing, this album deepens both. It's not his strangest record or his most experimental, but it's honest and direct. Start here if you want to understand why these two names belonged in the same breath.
Who's playing
Ray Browndouble bass
Jimmy Jonespiano
Les Spannguitar
Coleman Hawkinstenor saxophone
Budd Johnsontenor saxophone
Roy Eldridgetrumpet
Jo Jonesdrums
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
♫
The Hawk Flies High 1957
Coleman Hawkins
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners 1960
Ray Brown
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
♫
Roy's Got Rhythm 1956
Roy Eldridge
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Percussion and Bass 1960
Jo Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
