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Ben Webster
Born:
Ben Webster was considered one of the "big three" of swing tenors along with Coleman Hawkins (his main influence) and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with his own distinctive growls) yet on ballads he would turn into a pussy cat and play with warmth and sentiment. After violin lessons as a child, Webster learned how to play rudimentary piano (his neighbor Pete Johnson taught him to play blues). But after Budd Johnson showed him some basics on the saxophone, Webster played sax in the Young Family Band (which at the time included Lester Young). He had stints with Jap Allen and Blanche Calloway (making his recording debut with the latter) before joining Bennie Moten's Orchestra in time to be one of the stars on a classic session in 1932. Webster spent time with quite a few orchestras in the 1930s (including Andy Kirk, Fletcher Henderson in 1934, Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Cab Calloway, and the short-lived Teddy Wilson big band). In 1940 (after short stints in 1935 and 1936), Ben Webster became Duke Ellington's first major tenor soloist
George Coleman: George Coleman with Strings
by Dan McClenaghan
Tenor saxophonist George Coleman decided to leave the orbit of trumpeter Miles Davis in 1964. Or he got an elbow to the ribs and a hip check to leave the quintet, to be replaced by Wayne Shorter in the saxophone slot. Three top-notch live albums came out of the group that featured Coleman: In Europe: Live ...
Documentary: Ben Webster - 'Big Ben' (1971)
Shot for the Danish national television network in 1971, Big Ben profiled the tenor saxophone great Ben Webster two years before his death. Jazz players didn't come sweeter or more soulful than the Brute. Here Webster records with strings and talks about his life. It is impossible to stop a Webster recording once it begins. Your ...
Louis Stewart: I Thought About You
by Ian Patterson
For jazz guitar fans, and for aficionados of Irish guitarist Louis Stewart in particular, the 2022 relaunch of '70s label Livia Records has been manna from heaven. This is the born-again label's fifth reissue of the great Dublin six-stringer's out-of-print recordings since the series launched with Stewart's other 1977 album Out on His Own (Livia Records, ...
Andrew Hill, Ralph Burns, Joe Henderson
by David Brown
In the set I'd like to remember jazz pianist/composer Andrew Hill who was born 94 years ago on June 30, 1931. Hill's music defied categorization for over four decades with its enigmatic and sophisticated musical style. Tracks include two Hill works, a cover by drummer Chad Taylor and a collaboration with pianist Jason Moran. New releases ...
The Music of Hoagy Carmichael, Part 1
by Larry Slater
Hoagy Carmichael's career as one of America's great songwriters is unlike any of his peers. Carmichael, like George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, was born at the tail end of the 19th century, but he was never a Broadway composer, and he wasn't from New York. He was a midwesterner from Indiana, drawn more to ...
Miles Davis, Ben Sidran, Max Roach & Isaiah J. Thompson
by Joe Dimino
Episode 909 of Neon Jazz ignites with brilliance--and it starts with a rising star lighting up the modern jazz sky: Isaiah J. Thompson. We dive into fresh, soul-stirring tracks from his powerful 2025 release, The Book of Isaiah--Modern Jazz Ministry, where faith, groove, and virtuosity collide. From there, it's a rich journey through the past and ...
Duke Ellington's Concert of Sacred Music
by Chuck Lenatti
In 1964, Dean D.J. Bartlett and the Reverend John S. Yaryan invited Duke Ellington and his orchestra to present a concert to consecrate the renovated Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in San Francisco during a year-long festival of Grace. At first, Duke demurred. In his autobiography, Music Is My Mistress (Da Capo, 1976), Ellington ...
Jack Chambers: Rethinking Duke Ellington
by Jack Kenny
Jack Chambers is professor at the University of Toronto and teacher of music and language. His jazz writings include the prize winning biography Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis (Da Capo Press, 1998) and Bouncin' with Bartok: The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik (Mercury PR, 2008). Sweet Thunder: Duke Ellington's Music In Nine Themes ...
Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest
by Gary Fukushima
For most of his life, Jordan VanHemert has been on a quest of growth and mastery as a saxophonist, composer and musician. But equally important have been his efforts to contextualize some of the difficulties of his life experiences within the deeper themes of his DNA, discovering in the process resilience, optimism and joy. Jordan's music ...
