Ben Webster - See You at the Fair (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

Webster's Best Studio Work

Charles Loughrin | Paw Paw, Michigan United States | 11/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard "See You At The Fair" when I was a kid in the 60's on my dad's LP. I was quickly a Ben Webster fan, and became familiar with his works from the 40's through the 60's. This album is his best work, with delicious versions of Over The Rainbow and In A Mellowtone. Webster's ability to express such a sensuous breathy tone through his horn is unique among jazz tenors, and this album shows his maturity in his career. There are no second-rate cuts on this CD. It is pure Webster; it is the reason that I became a jazz tenor sax player. Enjoy!"

Gentle music for a quite evening

James | Indianapolis, IN United States | 03/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a beauty from an "old master". Most of the tunes are very gentle like rain drops against leaves on a cool spring evening. Only "See You at the Fair" is the exception. I am especially fond of Webster's refined interpretation of "The Single Petal of a Rose" by Duke Ellington, which I understand was not on the original release (Why?). "See You...", along with "Soulville" and "Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson", is a great introduction to jazz saxophone music for special people in your life that are reluctant to listen to jazz. I think anyone would enjoy these Webster classics regardless of musical taste."

A Webster beauty

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 12/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in 1964, this was Ben Webster's last recording done in America before moving to Europe, where his career witnessed a resurgence, and it's a beauty. Ben's tone is strong and vibrant, and he's as lyrical as ever. The opening track is a real lapel-grabber - a medium-up blues that gives everyone a taste solo-wise. Roger Kellaway on piano is especially inventive on this tune (SEE YOU AT THE FAIR). OVER THE RAINBOW and STARDUST are taken as very slow ballads; Webster's RAINBOW is just about definitive. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is also a slow ballad with beautiful Webster, and pianist Hank Jones takes a terrific solo here, too. WHILE WE'RE DANCING is an attractive bossa nova, and Ben is at his raspy, sexy best on the medium-tempo FALL OF LOVE. This is a must-have CD for Ben Webster fans."

Top Notch

Matthew Watters | 01/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Charles' review rings true. All tracks are good. Ellington's "The Single Petal of a Rose" is a lesson in simple unadorned beauty. "Stardust" appears on many other Webster records, but this version, though too short, gives it such feeling - a lesson in ornamenting an already beautiful melody. Many other songs shine here. And a couple with jazz harpsichord! Not every day do you hear that. Great CD."

The timelessness of Ben Webster

Matthew Watters | Vietnam | 03/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the "Big Three" tenor players who rose to fame in the 1930s, Ben Webster most defies analysis. He wears his musical heart on his sleeve. There's nothing deep or theoretical in his conception. He's just this big softie on ballads, while putting a proto-R&B growl into his uptempo numbers. While Coleman Hawkins's harmonic sophistication was a big influence on the conception of Coltrane and his subsequent imitators, and Lester Young's smooth, rhythmic conception was picked up by the cool jazz school, Ben Webster's emphasis on melody was probably only an influence on the likes of Gene Ammons and the Chicago school -- which means his influence on most of the moderns has died out. What that does, however, is make Webster even more sui generis to modern ears. It elevates him. And this album is a great place for a modern listener to start hearing Webster. It puts him with a quartet that includes a brace of post-bop masters (Hank Jones and Richard Davis) on a programme of perfectly chosen standards. Nobody can do ballads like "Someone to Watch Over Me" or "Over the Rainbow" like Webster. His version of the former is instantly definitive, and his version of the latter gives Art Pepper's a real run for its money. There's also a beautiful updating of Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone", long Webster's feature. For the original LP's "B" side, the piano chair is filled by the more bluesy Roger Kellaway, but he gives it a bit of 1960s lounge flavour by switching to harpsichord on a couple of tracks. It could by kitschy, but he pulls it off. The album ends with a great rendition of a great tune I always love hearing, "Lullaby of Broadway," with a very swinging harpsichord bit. Skip the bonus tracks lifted from Oliver Nelson's tendentious Blues and the Abstract Truth sessions. They show that Ben could work in a thoroughly modern setting, but detract from the easy, breezy charms of the quartet session. See you at the fair!"

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