Album Review: 'Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson'

Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson is a jazz masterpiece from 1959 that brought together some of the most acclaimed musicians at the time. Ben Webster, who had made a name for himself as one of the leading tenor saxophone players of the 1940s while playing in Duke Ellington’s Jazz Orchestra, lends his sensitive side to this pairing with pianist Oscar Peterson.

Webster and Peterson played together with some frequency throughout the 1950s, when both were members of impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz’ Jazz at the Philharmonic, a touring ensemble made up of some of the best jazz musicians around. Featured on the album are members of Peterson’s regular groups, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

Granz was also behind Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson, which is part of a series of matching Peterson and his trio with leading tenor players. Other records in this series include Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (Verve 1957), and Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio (Verve, 1957).

Ben Webster, who was equally comfortable growling through a bluesy stomp as he was churning buttery ballads, sticks mainly to the sensitive side on this recording. The opening track, “The Touch of Your Lips,” begins with a bouncy and excited piano introduction, setting the stage for a romping delivery. But when Webster enters, it’s clear he has different ideas. His tone, though full of his characteristic huskiness, is almost a whisper. His phrases are truncated and breathless sounding. He establishes an intimate and almost lackadaisical mood that is sporadically punctuated with growling bursts.

Webster maintains the role of a melancholic crooner for the duration of the album. On “When Your Lover Has Gone,” he bends and lets fall his sustained notes, evoking weepy speaking. Each of his melodic phrases can be recognized as some pattern of speech. There are moments in the song when he leaps into the high register of the saxophone, and his notes become crisper and lighter. It almost calls to mind a lamenting lover trying to convince himself that things aren’t really so bad.

“Bye-Bye Blackbird” is stubbornly whimsical, but in a way that sounds as though sadness isn’t too far off. Webster’s solo begins as a melodic whisper, and, with the band’s support, grows in intensity gradually. His tuneful melodies become more rhythmically choppy, and he allows them to become misaligned from the beat.

With “How Deep is the Ocean” and “In the Wee, Small Hours of the Morning,” Webster’s playing is as vocally-oriented as is possible. On the latter, he plays nothing more than the melody, reminiscent of Frank Sinatra’s hit version of the song on the singer’s 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol Records).

The most upbeat of all the tracks on Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson are the last two, “Sunday” and “This Can’t Be Love.” The former’s slightly fast tempo evokes the growls that are characteristic of Webster in his less somber settings. The latter, although not fast, has an aggressive drive that also brings out Webster’s gruff side. Peterson’s solos on these tunes, as they are most of the time, are playful and clean, with little surprises scattered here and there.

For classic jazz fans, as well as those new to the idiom, Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson is a must-have.

Release Date:

1959 on Verve Records

Personnel:

• Ben Webster – Tenor Saxophone
• Oscar Peterson – Piano
• Ray Brown – Bass
• Ed Thigpen – Drums

Track List:

1. The 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