1958 · Album
The Tatum Group Masterpieces
Recorded 1956 · Verve Records · Produced by Norman Granz
Two Giants Who Knew When to Listen
Tatum and Webster had no business sounding this relaxed together — and yet they do.
By 1956, Art Tatum was in the last year of his life, recording prolifically for producer Norman Granz in a series of sessions that paired him with horn players, guitarists, and rhythm section heavyweights. The idea was to capture Tatum in a group setting rather than as a solo pianist, and the results were genuinely mixed across the series. This one, with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, is the best of the bunch. The two men had a long acquaintance and it shows — Webster plays with an ease and warmth here that you don't always hear on his records, and Tatum, who could overwhelm any accompanist when he felt like it, seems genuinely happy to share space.
What makes this date work is restraint, which is not a word you typically reach for when describing Tatum. On ballads like 'My One and Only Love,' he pulls back and lets Webster's big, breathy tone take the lead. Webster's style — that slightly husky, almost murmuring quality on slow tempos — meshes surprisingly well with Tatum's touch. Red Callender on bass and Bill Douglass on drums stay quiet and tasteful throughout, which is the right call. This isn't a blowing session; it's more like two guys playing in a living room and happening to be two of the best in the world at what they do.
The album was originally released in 1958 on Verve as The Art Tatum - Ben Webster Quartet (1958), went out of print, and was later reissued by Granz on his Pablo label as part of the Group Masterpieces series. The 1992 CD version includes bonus tracks worth having. If you only know Tatum from solo recordings, this is a good place to hear what he sounded like when he had a reason to hold back.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Ben Webster
Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster 1959
At the Renaissance 1960
Soulmates 1963
Ben Webster and Associates 1959
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
