[.ca] Big Ben

From Amazon.co.uk:
As a meticulous selection of over 90 titles from the first 20 years of the Webster discography Big Ben could hardly be bettered. It traces the career of one of the great masters of the tenor saxophone from his unimpressive beginnings in 1931 to the marvellous years with Duke Ellington in the early 40s and the freelancing which followed, culminating in two sessions from 1951 which demonstrate Webster's incomparable ballad style in its full maturity. The first CD traces the early stylistic developments through sessions with Bennie Moten, Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson, while the second covers the period with Ellington which also included dates with Jack Teagarden and Slim Gaillard. Among the tracks selected here are the first recordings of such classics as "Cottontail", "Sepia Panorama", "Chelsea Bridge" and "Perdido". The third and fourth CDs follow Ben through the 40s as he recorded with big band leaders Woody Herman and Jay McShann, veterans including Hot Lips Page and Cozy Cole and boppers such as Dizzy Gillespie and Idrees Sulieman. There are also eight tracks from two quartet sessions featuring the unique drumming of Big Sid Catlett and showing Webster at his most relaxed. Lengthy and informative notes by producer Joop Visser complete an attractively produced package representing exceptional value for money. --Graham Colombé

GET DOWN WITH BIG BEN WEBSTER ALTO SAX:
I have been buying many Proper Records Box Sets, and Big Ben with Ben Webster covers his covers with everyone from Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellngton, Cab Calloway, Ben Webster, James P. Johnson, Woody Herman, Jay McShann, and Johnny Otis. He may be only one tenor sax in major jazz orchestras, quintets, and sextets, but he is in there with the best. Try Properboxes Boss Bird, Bud Powell Tempus Fugue-It, The Count Basie Story, The Sidney Bechet Story, Young Miles (Davis), and Fats Navarro Story for extensive 4 CDs sets that became available after copyright ran out. Lester Young is a good bet. I couldn't get Peggy Lee. This music from the Forties and Thirties was new to me and I could get it at a good price. Enjoy. Get down.

• Without That Gal
• Toby - Bennie Moten
• Blue Room - Bennie Moten
• Happy as the Day Is Long - Fletcher Henderson
• Hotter Than 'Ell - Fletcher Henderson
• Dream Lullaby - Benny Carter & His Orchestra
• Everybody Shuffle - Benny Carter & His Orchestra
• Ghost of Dinah - Bob Howard
• Rigamarole - Willie Bryant
• What a Little Moonlight Can Do - Teddy Wilson
• Sunbonnet Blue (And a Little Straw Hat) - Teddy Wilson
• Voice of Old Man River - Willie Bryant & His Orchestra
• Truckin' - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• In a Jam - Duke Ellington
• Wedding of Mr and Mrs Swing
• Easy to Love - Teddy Wilson
• I'll See You in My Dreams - Teddy Wilson
• Sing You Sinners - Fletcher Henderson
• Early Session Hop - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
• 71 - Teddy Wilson
• Solitude - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Conga Brava - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Bojangles (A Portrait of Bill Robinson) - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• All Too Soon - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Sepia Panorama - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Chloe (Song of the Swamp) - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Linger Awhile - Rex Stewart
• Stardust - Duke Ellington
• Lament for Javanette - Barney Bigard
• St. James Infirmary - Jack Teagarden
• World Is Waiting for the Sunrise - Jack Teagarden
• Big Eight Blues - Jack Teagarden
• Shine - Jack Teagarden
• Blue Serge - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Just A-Settin' and A-Rockin' - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Five O'Clock Drag - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Chelsea Bridge - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Perdido - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• C Jam Blues - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Palm Springs Jump - Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys
• Ra-Da-Da-Da - Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys
• Groove Juice Special - Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys
• Main Stem - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
• Woke Up Clipped - Ben Webster Quartet
• Teezol - Ben Webster Quartet
• 'Nuff Said - Ben Webster Quartet
• Horn - Ben Webster Quartet
• Dirty Deal - Ben Webster Quartet
• Don't Blame Me - Ben Webster Quartet
• I Surrender, Dear - Ben Webster Quartet
• Tea for Two - Ben Webster Quartet
• Noah - Woody Herman & His Orchestra
• Cryin' Sands - Woody Herman & His Orchestra
• Victory Stride - James P. Johnson & his Orchestra
• After You've Gone - James P. Johnson
• Joshua - Cozy Cole
• Talk to Me - Cozy Cole
• Body and Soul - Cozy Cole
• Sleep - Big Sid Catlett
• Linger Awhile - Big Sid Catlett
• Memories of You - Big Sid Catlett
• Just a Riff - Big Sid Catlett
• Blues on the Delta - Walter "Foots" Thomas
• Honeysuckle Rose - Ben Webster Quartet
• I Surrender, Dear - Ben Webster Quartet
• Blue Skies - Ben Webster Quartet
• Kat's Fur - Ben Webster Quartet
• My Old Flame - Benny Morton
• Sheik of Araby - Benny Morton's All Stars
• Conversing in Blue - Benny Morton's All Stars
• Limehouse Blues - Benny Morton's All Stars
• John Hardy's Wife - Woody Herman
• Jeep Is Jumpin' - Ben Webster
• I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) - Ben Webster
• Dark Corners - Ben Webster
• Blues, Mister Brim - Ben Webster
• Frog and Mule - Ben Webster Quartet
• Spang - Ben Webster Quartet
• Doctor Keets - Ben Webster Quartet
• Park and Tilford Blues - Ben Webster Quartet
• You're Only Happy When I'm Blue
• New Style Baby - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• Let's Love Awhile - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• Nasty Attitude - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• Slow Down Baby - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• Duke and the Brute - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• Reach - Jay McShann & His Orchestra,
• One O'Clock Jump - Johnny Otis & His Orchestra
• Stardust - Johnny Otis & His Orchestra
• Randle's Island - Ben Webster
• Old Folks - Ben Webster
• King's Riff - Ben Webster
• You're My Thrill - Ben Webster