Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peters

Product Details

Artist : Ben Webster With Oscar Peterson
Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0731452144829
Label : Verve
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 1997-09-16
UPC : 731452144829

ASIN : B0000047D8

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Touch of Your Lips
2. When Your Lover Has Gone
3. Bye Bye Blackbird
4. How Deep Is the Ocean?
5. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
6. Sunday
7. This Can't Be Love

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Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Ben Webster's tenor saxophone is one of the utterly distinctive and inimitable sounds in jazz and in 1959, when this set was recorded, it had reached its full breathy, melting ripeness. It was more than an instrumental tone; it was a voice, with all the variety of nuance that the human voice can command. He applies it here to seven classic American songs, well-known melodies which he explores with the ease and relaxation of long familiarity. Only Sinatra's own version could equal Webster's exposition of "In The Wee Small Hours Of the Morning", while Ray Noble's "The Touch Of Your Lips" was never so well served, either before or since. Most of the pieces are taken either as slow ballads or at an easy, mid-tempo lope, the one exception being "Sunday", which swings out with a will. Oscar Peterson is so celebrated as a virtuoso pianist that his virtues as an accompanist are rarely noticed, but he is one of the most supportive partners any soloist could desire. Along with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, his regular bass-and-drums team of the time, he provides the perfect setting for Webster. Altogether, this is a golden set from a golden era. --Dave Gelly

Chronique amazon.fr

Le saxophoniste, durant sa carrière, a toujours fait mentir le précepte selon lequel un ex- partenaire de Duke Ellington ne pouvait continuer sa carrière en solo. Webster n'est pas Icare, et son saxophone n'a pas fondu au contact du piano d'Oscar Peterson. Les deux compères se retrouvent en 1959 pour cet album soyeux et "mid-tempo", où l'on sent qu'ils se font un incommensurable plaisir à reprendre des thèmes aussi savoureux que "When Your Lover Has Gone" ou "In The Wee Small Hours Of the Morning". Une totale réussite. --Eric Frank

Customer Reviews

Some Of The Old Ones Are Still The Best!!! (2002-09-01)

This is some of the most recognizable music that is good jazz that you will come across. The combination of the Oscar Peterson Trio with the breathy sax playing of Ben Webster gives a specail warmth and sentiment to these standards. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, "In The Wee Small Hours" is instumentally the equal of what Sinatra did for the tune vocally. Webster had an entirely different tone on faster tunes....more robust with some rasps and growls. One can hear a hint of this on the mid tempo "Sunday".

Look at the rest of these reviews and you have to conclude this is a necessity for your collection if you're a serious lover of mainstream jazz, the master saxwork of Ben Webster, or the equally excellent playing of the Oscar Peterson Trio. It was one of the best buys I've made for my collection!

NOW THIS IS WHAT JAZZ IS ALL ABOUT (2002-08-02)

Ben Webster and Oscar Peterson...two of the most revered names in music history. It doesn't get much finer than this album. While this CD will leave you yearning for more because there are only a handful of tracks here; the sentiment and urgency of the playing here transports one to uncharted delightful heights. When I first heard this version of IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING, I suspected it was Ben Webster, but literally stopped what I was doing and hoped the radio station would announce who it was (luckilly they did and I confirmed what I thought!) What a great surprise it was to find my favorite pianist, the immortal Oscar Peterson was backing Ben on this wonderful album!At that point I rushed to find this CD. The ballads, in addition to the aforementioned WEE SMALL HOURS, are absolutely gorgeous. The beautiful heartache in the reading of WHEN YOUR LOVER HAS GONE borders on definitive. SUNDAY and THE TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS lope along in a somewhat swinging vein, and are equally as classic. Norman Granz often paired up some unlikely stars with fantastic (and sometimes surprisingly so) results. This is one such occassion that really comes across. A classic album that must be heard and must be had!

One of the BEST. (2002-03-31)

This is the perfect CD for anyone. My favorite tenor sax man and one of the best pianists and rhythm sections in jazz history, make this a must have. An excellent introduction for anyone not familiar with jazz or Ben Webster and Oscar Peterson, as well as a marvelous addition to the experienced listener or musicians jazz library. I'd give it five billion stars if I could!

P.S. You know it's going to be good if it's got O.P.!

A Masterwork by Two Masters (2002-03-12)

Wow. I dug this CD out of my collection today and had another listen, and I'm sure glad I did.Today's jazz is all over the place, with different jazz styles and a lot of indifferent playing as well. But this recording is the work of 2 masters of their instruments. Swinging, bluesy and melodic, all of the tunes are on a such a high level. It is a delight to listen to, and never gets stale. Anyone can swing and play a lot of notes, but it takes a real master to play ballads. Ben Webster's playing on this recording is at the very highest level ever recorded. He's authoritative, bluesy, and seductive. This music has a quality you just don't hear anymore in today's jazz. It comes from an era (1959) when all of the very best jazz musicians were alive at the same time, competing for an audience and listening to each other's recordings.Whether you are a collector, or just a listener who appreciates great music, this is a must buy.

A Special Treat From 1959 (2002-01-14)

Tasty drumming from Ed; Ray - the best bass man of the 50s (and beyond); the smooth laid-back, relaxing style of Ben and the exciting work of Oscar, the best jazz pianist since Art Tatum. These four get together and give us a prime example of quintessential jazz of the late fifties.

I was a working jazz pianist in the late fifties and these guys were our idols -- breathing new life into old standards, much like Diana Krall is doing today. If you like nice chord changes, great improvising and recognizable music, then you'll appreciate this album. It's one of the best out there.

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