Personnel! Fucking sound off…!
(06/06/1962): Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Harry “Sweets” Edison (trumpet); Hank Jones (piano); George Duvivier (bass); Clarence Johnston (drums).
(06/07/1962): Ben Webster (saxophone); Harry “Sweets” Edison (trumpet); Hank Jones (piano); Clarence Johnston (drums). Recorded Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY 06/06/1962 and 06/07/1962.
“Better Go” starts with Sweets at 0:35, a slightly sour yet paradoxically relaxed horn… then Mr. Duviver’s bass, then Brute, then piano… all obviously enjoying each other’s company….
“How Long Has This Been Going On” opens with Webster’s bending to flatted thirds and sevenths blues (A-Ab-Gb) — (solo Webster overall, no Sweetness)….
“Kitty” features both Sweets and Frog– swank and slow, loving its own patience… smiling smugly… the Feverish melody throbbing… Webster sounds gruff, showing off his “stomp” tone, but also nicely unhurried, like he’s okay with the gruffness and he’s gonna take his mu’fucking time with it….
“My Romance“: Webster’s best (and obviously favorite) cover, but fails to show the sanguine interplay between the two players….
“Did You Call Her Today” has both men; softly struts, cuttingly confident: starts with the lightest touch piano, then the two men….
“Embraceable You”– just Sweets– highlights the surprising delicacy, no fragility of his playing; somehow the presence of Frog masks this… a truly beautiful 4 minutes….
The greatness of the album is in the combined tracks; the two masters playing beside each other is infinitely more instructive than the solo pieces….
Overall: fun, actually. And worth perusing, if not buying outright….
Šawtooth Ŵave 