''King of the Tenors'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ben Webster featuring tracks recorded in 1953 for the Norgran label and originally released as ''The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster'' (MGN 1001). The album was re-issued in 1957 on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

as ''King of the Tenors'' (MGV 8020), and has been released with that title ever since. Webster is accompanied by The Oscar Peterson Trio, and, on several tracks, by Benny Carter and Harry "Sweets" Edison.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded the album 4 stars, with reviewer

Ron Wynn Ron Wynn is a music critic, author, and AllMusic editor. Wynn was the editor of the first edition of '' The All Music Guide to Jazz'' (1994), and from 1993 to 1994 served as the jazz and rap editor of the ''All Music Guide''. Wynn is the former e ...

describing ''King of the Tenors'' as "a series of elegant yet soulful and exuberant small group dates.... Although this date is more than four decades old, Ben Webster's solos have a freshness and vitality that make them quite relevant to contemporary events."Wynn, R
Allmusic Review
accessed July 9, 2016 '' The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' gave ''King of the Tenors'' 4 stars out of 4, saying "'Tenderly' has never been more tender, 'That's All' is sheer heaven, but 'Jive at Six' is a good piece of studio knockabout." In ''Someone to Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster,'' Frank Buchmann-Moller writes of the album: "These recordings show a broad spectrum of Ben's craft and can be heard as a summary of his artistic level at the time.... On the blues tunes 'Jive at Six' and 'Bounce Blues'... he plays with gusto and drive, and 'Cotton Tail' is exceptional, built up over six choruses, inspired and full of direction all the way.... is the ballads that stand out, beginning with a one-and-a-half-chorus version of 'Tenderly,' in a rendition perfectly reflecting the title. Ellington's 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' is played at a medium slow pace... with Ben at his most lyrical, presenting the theme almost seductively."Frank Buchmann-Moller, ''Someone to Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster,'' University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2010, , p. 146-147.

Track listing

Side A

Side B

1993 CD reissue bonus tracks

Personnel

* Ben Webster -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* Benny Carter -

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

(tracks 1–4, 6 & 11) * Harry "Sweets" Edison -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 1–4, 6 & 11) *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

(tracks 5, 7–10),

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

(tracks 1–4, 6 & 11) –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Ray Brown –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

Alvin Stoller Alvin Stoller (October 7, 1925 – October 19, 1992) was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s. He was best known for playing drums on both Mitch Miller's ...

(tracks 5, 7–10), J. C. Heard (tracks 1–4, 6 & 11) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control 1954 albums Ben Webster albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Verve Records albums Norgran Records albums