Benjamin Francis Webster was born on March 27, 1909, and died on September 20, 1973. He was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He played music in the United States and Europe. He recorded music with famous artists such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, and others.

Career

Ben Webster was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He studied violin, learned to play blues on the piano from Pete Johnson, and took saxophone lessons from Budd Johnson. He played with Lester Young in the Young Family Band. He recorded music with Blanche Calloway and joined the Bennie Moten Orchestra, which included Count Basie, Hot Lips Page, and Walter Page. In the 1930s, he played in bands led by Willie Bryant, Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Andy Kirk, and Teddy Wilson.

Webster became a soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1940. He performed on the song "Cotton Tail." He said that Johnny Hodges, an alto saxophonist in the Ellington Orchestra, greatly influenced his playing. Gunther Schuller wrote in 1989 that Hodges' influence made Webster move away from his earlier inspiration by Coleman Hawkins. Webster became close to Jimmy Blanton and Billy Strayhorn, who were also new members of Ellington's group.

Webster's personality caused problems for most members of the orchestra and for Ellington. Mercer Ellington said it was impossible for his father and Webster to be in the same room without an argument. Webster cried when he heard about Blanton's death, but Harry Carney, a baritone player, said Webster's behavior changed after drinking. Webster left the band in 1943. It is reported that he cut one of Ellington's jackets with a razor as his final act in the orchestra. Clark Terry said Webster left because he slapped Ellington.

Webster worked on 52nd Street in New York City, where he recorded music as a leader and as part of other musicians' groups. During this time, he played with Raymond Scott, John Kirby, Bill DeArango, Sid Catlett, Jay McShann, and Jimmy Witherspoon. In 1948, he briefly returned to Ellington's orchestra.

In 1953, Webster recorded The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster (now called King of the Tenors) with pianist Oscar Peterson, who worked with Webster for many years. With Peterson, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and others, he toured and recorded with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. In 1956, he recorded an album with pianist Art Tatum, supported by bassist Red Callender and drummer Bill Douglass. In 1957, he recorded Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster with Coleman Hawkins, Peterson, Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), and Alvin Stoller (drums). This recording brought together two great tenor saxophonists who had first met in Kansas City.

In the late 1950s, Webster formed a group with Gerry Mulligan and performed often at a club in Los Angeles called Renaissance. At this club, his group backed up blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon on a live album for the Hi-Fi Jazz label. In 1959, the group, with pianist Jimmy Rowles, bassist Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer Mel Lewis, recorded Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster for Verve Records.

Webster worked steadily until late 1964, when he moved to Europe to perform with other American jazz musicians and local artists. He played when he wanted during his final years. He lived in London and parts of Scandinavia for one year, then in Amsterdam for three years, and finally moved to Copenhagen in 1969. He appeared as a saxophonist in a small cabaret club in the 1970 Danish film Quiet Days in Clichy. In 1971, he reunited with Duke Ellington and his orchestra for performances in Copenhagen and recorded live in France with Earl Hines. He also performed with Buck Clayton, Bill Coleman, and Teddy Wilson.

Webster suffered a stroke in Amsterdam in September 1973 after a performance in Leiden. He died on September 20. His body was cremated in Copenhagen, and his ashes were buried in the Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro.

Webster's collection of jazz recordings and memorabilia is kept in the jazz archives at the University Library of Southern Denmark in Odense.

Ben Webster used the same saxophone from 1938 until his death in 1973. He instructed that the instrument should never be played again. It is displayed at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

A street in southern Copenhagen, "Ben Websters Vej," is named after him.

Ben Webster Foundation

After Webster passed away, Billy Moore Jr. and the person in charge of Webster's estate formed the Ben Webster Foundation, a non-profit group in Denmark.

While Webster lived in Denmark for eight years, he didn't have someone to manage his music rights. In 1972, he worked with Billy Moore Jr., who was an arranger for Jimmie Lunceford. Moore helped organize Webster's recording history to ensure he received his royalties. Moore and the trustee of Webster's estate started the Ben Webster Foundation. Webster's only legal heir, Harley Robinson from Los Angeles, gave his rights to the foundation.

In 1976, the Queen of Denmark approved the Ben Webster Foundation. The trust deed states the foundation's goal is to help spread jazz in Denmark. The foundation uses Webster's yearly royalties to support musicians in Denmark and the U.S. Each year, the foundation gives the Ben Webster Prize to a young, talented musician. Though the prize is not very large, it is very respected. Over time, the foundation has helped American musicians visit Denmark for concerts, recordings, and other jazz events.

The foundation's board includes Webster's close friends and fans. The foundation sends Webster's yearly royalties to musicians in Denmark and the U.S. Each year, the Ben Webster Prize is given by vote to one outstanding young musician.

American musicians have come to Denmark to perform concerts for the foundation. The Board of Trustees watches over Webster's music rights and any new releases of his music. The foundation ensures these releases are legal, high quality, and correct.

In 2009, Ernie Wilkins's Almost Big Band started the Copenhagen Jazz Festival with a concert at the Copenhagen Jazzhouse. The event featured the "All Time Battle of Tenor Saxophones," organized by the Webster Foundation.

Discography

• 1944: The Horn (Circle, 1982)
• 1944–1946: The Chronological (Classics, ?)
• 1946–1951: The Chronological (Classics, ?)
• 1953: Rare Live Performance 1962 (Musidisc, 1975) – a live radio performance from 1953. Reissued as 1953: An Exceptional Encounter (The Jazz Factory, 2001).
• 1953: The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster (Norgran, 1954) – reissued as King of the Tenors (Verve, 1957).
• 1955: Music for Loving (Norgran, 1955)
• 1956: The Art Tatum – Ben Webster Quartet (Verve, 1958) – reissued as The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Volume Eight (Pablo, 1975).
• 1957: Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (Verve, 1959)
• 1944–1958: Ben and the Boys (Jazz Archives, 1976) – newly discovered recordings.
• 1958: Soulville (Verve, 1958)
• 1958: The Soul of Ben Webster (Verve, 1959)
• 1959: Ben Webster and Associates (Verve, 1959)
• 1959: Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (Verve, 1960)
• 1959: At the Renaissance – with Jimmy Witherspoon and Gerry Mulligan (HiFi Jazz, 1960)
• 1959: Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster (Verve, 1960)
• 1960: Ben Webster at the Renaissance (Contemporary, 1985)
• 1961: The Warm Moods (Reprise, 1961)
• 1962: BBB & Co. with Benny Carter and Barney Bigard (Swingville, 1962)
• 1962: Wanted to Do One Together (Columbia, 1962)
• 1963: Soulmates with Joe Zawinul (Riverside, 1963)
• 1963: Carol & Ben with Carol Sloane (Honeydew, 1977)
• 1964: See You at the Fair (Impulse!, 1964)
• 1964: Layin' Back with Ben Vol. 1 (Honeydew, 1977)
• 1964: Layin' Back with Ben Vol. 2 (Honeydew, 1977)
• 1964: Live at Pio's (Enja, 1991) – a split album with Gene Ammons.
• 1965: Intimate! (Fontana, 1965) – recorded at the Café Montmartre, Copenhagen, and reconfigured for Black Lion reissues.
• 1965: Saturday Night at the Montmartre (Black Lion, 1974) – reissued on CD in expanded form as Stormy Weather (Black Lion, 1989).
• 1965: Sunday Morning at the Montmartre (Black Lion, 1977) – reissued on CD in expanded form as Gone With the Wind (Black Lion, 1989).
• 1965: Ben Webster's First Concert in Denmark (Storyville, 2019)
• 1965: The Jeep Is Jumping (Black Lion, 1990)
• 1965: Blue Light (International Polydor [Germany], 1966) – later re-released as Atmosphere For Lovers and Thieves.
• 1965: Big Sound (Polydor, 1969)
• 1966?: Atmosphere for Lovers and Thieves (International Polydor, 1966)
• 1967: Previously Unreleased Recordings with Jimmy Witherspoon (Verve, 1974)
• 1967: Big Ben Time! (Fontana, 1967)
• 1967: Swingin' in London with Bill Coleman (Black Lion, 1972)
• 1967: Meets Bill Coleman (Black Lion, 1989)
• 1968?: Ben Webster Meets Don Byas (SABA, 1968)
• 1967–1969: Plays Duke Ellington (Storyville, 1988)
• 1969: Live in Amsterdam (Affinity, 1989)
• 1969: For the Guv'nor (Columbia, 1969)
• 1969?: Ben Webster at Ease with the Frans Wieringa Trio (Ember, 1