Ben Webster, Complete Recordings 1959-62 (4CD)

http://www.renaud-bray.com

http://www.renaud-bray.com

*** Résumé en anglais seulement ***The 1950s saw Webster's career going from strength to strength. As the decade drew to a close, Webster formed a quartet with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. The album they released together has since been hailed one of the finest albums either artist ever recorded and garnered a five star review in The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. The Webster-Mulligan group would continue to perform regularly, particularly at the Renaissance club in L.A. where they would record a live album with blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon. Webster would go on to record his own live album at the same venue, with a new band of guitarist Jim Hall, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and drummer Frank Butler. Webster relocated to New York in the early 1960s and released a trio of eclectic albums: the string-laden The Warm Moods in 1961, becoming the first musician besides Frank Sinatra to release an album on the Reprise label, a collaboration with trumpeter Harry Sweets Edison on Ben And Sweets, and once again playing a starring role alongside Jimmy Witherspoon on Roots. Webster found it difficult to secure regular work throughout this period and upon receiving the offer in 1964 of a month's tenure at Ronnie Scott's in London he embarked on what would turn out to be a permanent emigration. Upon his arrival in Europe, his fortunes took an almost immediate upturn and his successful London gig soon lead to week-long residences in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. Although his health began to decline, his playing did not, and indeed Webster would go on to reunite with Duke Ellington for a number of performances at the Tivoli Gardens as well as recording albums with the Georges Arvanitas and Tete Montoliu trios. He recorded his final album My Man: Live at Montmartre in 1973. Following a performance at Twee Spieghels in Leiden in late 1973, Ben Webster suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died on 20th September, aged 64.