Soul of ben webster

Ben Webster (1909-1973) was living in Los Angeles throughout the
Fifties and early Sixties and although he found some appreciation of his
music in California (and was frequently recorded by Norman Granz, as
proven by this and many other albums), he was rarely heard beyond
the West Coast. His resurgence began in 1963 when a once a week
gig at the Shalimar in New York was extended to six weeks, which
led to concerts and further club dates at Birdland and the Half Note.
Although it seems hard to imagine, at the age of 56, Ben had never
been to Europe once in his whole career. That would change when he
travelled to Scandinavia to play concerts, plus an engagement at Jazzhus
Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The ambiance there was always
extraordinary, and the musicians invariably found it easy to relax in the
completely informal atmosphere. Webster moved to Europe in 1964 and
remained there until his death in 1973.

BEN WEBSTER, tenor sax
ART FARMER, trumpet
HAROLD ASHBY, tenor sax
JIMMY JONES, piano
MUNDELL LOWE, guitar
MILT HINTON, bass
DAVE BAILEY, drums
New York, July 1958.
Original session produced by Norman Granz.
*BONUS TRACK:
Ben Webster (ts), Tony Scott (cl), Mac Ceppos, David Novales,
Mischa Russell (vln), Richard Dickler (viola), Rudy Sims (cello),
Billy Strayhorn (p, arr, cond), George Duvivier (b), Louie Bellson (d).
New York, May 28, 1954.