Ben Webster
100 Years: The Brute and The Beautiful
Storyville Records
By George W. Harris

I know this is going to be a stretch for some of you, but believe it or not, people actually played the tenor saxophone before John Coltrane! The reason that most younger artists imitate Coltrane these days (and not Ben Webster) is due to the simple fact that just about anyone can do 20 minutes of stratospheric screeching, but no one, and I mean NO ONE, is still able to sound like Webster, who would be 100 years old in 2009.

This 2 disc compilation ably demonstrates why Webster was one of the three most influential tenor players (next to Hawkins and Young) of all time. On the uptempo tunes, he could growl and roar like the King of the forest; on ballads, he could make you weep with his horn sounding like the London fog.

The two cds are wisely divided between uptempos (The Brute) and ballads (The Beautiful), and his gorgeous tone is in full display. “Sweet Georgia Brown” will get you jumping onto the basketball court, while “The Theme” and “Cottontail” feel like a runaway train. The slower and second disc has Webster delivering a tear jerking “Danny Boy” along with a “Come Sunday” that will get you back into church and on your knees. If you’ve never heard this guy before, prepare yourself for some life changing moments. You won’t be able to get enough of this guy.