Ben Webster : 100 Years

  Aage Bertelsen - Strings
  Alex Riel - Drums
  Allan Botschinsky - Trumpet
  Anton Kontra - Strings
  Axel Windfel - Trombone
  Ben Webster - Piano, Sax (Tenor)
  Bent Juul Nielsen - Reeds
  Bjarne Rostvold - Drums
  Borge Madsen - Strings
  Carmell Jones - Trumpet
  Charlie McLean - Piano
  Dexter Gordon - Reeds
  Erling Christensen - Strings
  Finn Ziegler - Strings, Violin
  Herman Bell - Guitar
  Holger Bjerre - Strings
  Hugo Rasmussen - Bass
  Jay McShann - Piano
  Jesper Thilo - Reeds
  Jesse Price - Drums
  Jimmy Cannady - Guitar
  Joe Veletri - Drums
  Kurt J. Jensen - Strings
  Lloyd Anderson - Bass
  Makaya Ntshoko - Drums
  Milt Hinton - Bass
  Mogens Holm Larsen - Strings
  Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen - Bass
  Ole Kock Hansen - Piano
  Ole Kurt Jensen - Trombone
  Ole Molin - Guitar
  Ole Streenberg - Drums
  Ove Winther - Strings
  Palle Bolvig - Trumpet
  Palle Mikkelborg - Trumpet
  Per Espersen - Trombone
  Per Ludolph - Strings
  Perry Knudsen - Trumpet
  Ray White - Drums
  Rob Langereis - Bass
  Rune Carlsson - Drums
  Sahib Shihab - Reeds
  Stanley Carlson - Strings
  Tete Montoliu - Piano
  Torolf Molgaard - Trombone
  Torolf Molgard - Trombone
  Uffe Karskov - Reeds
  Walter Brown - Vocals

Ben Webster was never a particularly innovative or experimental tenor sax player, so he often gets overlooked when discussions turn to the greatest sax players of the 20th century, but he could do two things as well as anyone who ever picked up the instrument. He could blow rough and raspy and he could go sweet as fresh sugar on a ballad until one would swear the whole world was weeping. Webster didn't expand, deconstruct, and re-form melodies; he simply made them speak in a way that made the heart swell. And luckily, he recorded a lot, which makes sets like this one possible. Divided into two discs, one featuring Webster's powerful, rough side and the other his aching, honey-filled ballad side (with a little bit of Webster at the piano as well), this little box set, released to honor the 100th anniversary of Webster's birth, makes for a fascinating late-career portrait of this delightful player, catching him in all of his styles, swinging, roaring, and sighing by turns. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide