Ben Webster, swing tenor saxophone (1909-1973)

Ben Webster, the giant swing tenor saxophone (1909-1973)

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Benjamin Francis Webster, known in the jazz world as Ben Webster and nicknamed “The Frog” for his bulging eyes, (Kansas City, March 27, 1909 – Amsterdam, September 20, 1973), was born in the very jazzy city of Kansas City, birthplace of magnificent saxophonists, among them the great Charlie Parker. It was on March 27, 1909, and his musical career began to take center stage as a saxophonist in maestro Duke Ellington’s orchestra, during the days of the Cotton Club in Harlem. The “Duke” composed, in gratitude to his saxophonist, an emblematic piece that accompanied Ben Webster throughout his career. We are talking about “In a Mellotone,” a piece tailor-made for our musician and that would accompany him throughout his career.

Ben Webster studied several instruments: first violin, then piano and clarinet. His first job was as a pianist in a silent movie theater in Texas. He acquired his interest in the saxophone from Bud Johnson, the famous Dallas saxophonist. He played alto saxophone in well-known orchestras, such as that of W. H. Young, father of the great Lester Young, where he stayed for three months. In 1931, he worked accompanying the singer Blanche Calloway, sister of the famous bandleader Cab Calloway, and from the end of that year until early 1933, he was part of one of the best orchestras in the Midwest, that of Bennie Moten, whose pianist at the time was the maestro Count Basie. After his fruitful experience with Moten, Ben Webster began to be requested by the most famous big bands. In 1933, Andy Kirk called him to head his saxophone section. Later, Fletcher Henderson noticed him, and in 1934, he worked with Benny Carter. In each of these, Ben Webster’s presence coincided with the orchestras’ peak period.

After his tenure on Benny Carter’s stand, he played for over a year with Cab Calloway’s orchestra, with whom he recorded sixteen songs between the spring of 1936 and the summer of 1937. The second half of the 1930s was, in this sense, a period in which Ben Webster carved out a place for himself on the American jazz scene and established himself as one of the great tenor saxophone players of the time.

His last job of that decade was playing in Teddy Wilson’s group, where he accompanied the singer Billie Holiday on several recordings. The highlight of his life came in 1940 when he joined Duke Ellington’s historic orchestra. His entry coincided with the addition of bassist Jimmy Blanton. Between 1940 and 1943, during one of the greatest periods of Ellington’s orchestra, Webster was an undisputed pillar of the saxophone section, arguably the finest in jazz history, alongside Johnny Hodges and Russell Procope. Songs like “Satin Doll” and especially “In a Mellowtone” were written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, to the greater glory of their tenor saxophonist.

When the decline of the big bands began after World War II, many musicians had to find their place in jazz music as soloists, with varying degrees of success, either forming their own more or less stable group or as side man accompanying other musicians. Our protagonist benefited from the breakup of the big swing orchestras, and as a soloist he achieved the successes that had been somewhat camouflaged within Ellington’s orchestra.

Ben Webster’s pilgrimage, when he left Ellington’s orchestra in 1943, began with Sidney Catlett’s group in early 1944, John Kirby (July 1944); Stuff Smith (1945) and with Henry “Red” Allen from November 1948 to September 1949. From then on, producer Norman Granz freed him from his financial problems when he embarked on the adventure of “Jazz at the Philharmonic” where he remained linked until 1959. Converted into a globetrotter, in 1964 he immigrated to Europe, settling first in Copenhagen and then in Holland, until in 1969 he finally dropped anchor in the Danish capital. In 1973, performing in the Dutch city of Leyda, he suffered a heart attack that ended his life in a hospital in Amsterdam.

Ben Webster suffered a stroke in Amsterdam on September 20, 1973, following a performance at the Twee Spieghels in Leiden, and died on September 20. His body was cremated in Copenhagen and his ashes were buried in the Assistens Cemetery in the Nørrebro section of the city.

Webster’s private collection of jazz recordings and memorabilia is archived in the jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark, Odense.

Ben Webster used the same saxophone from 1938 until his death in 1973. He left instructions that the horn was never to be played again. It is on display in the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

Ben Webster has a street named after him in southern Copenhagen, “Ben Websters Vej”.

Ben Webster, along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, is part of the triad of great tenor saxophonists in the history of jazz.

Meet The Frog · Ben Webster

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