Customer Reviews

Walkman Jazz

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It is a pleasure to know that some musicians have been blessed with the ability to duplicate life's most cherished moments. Perhaps I'm biased, this CD being my first introduction into the world of Jazz years ago, but I must say that this compilation is the closest thing I've found to candle-lit dinners and sleepy Manhattan strolls.

The two alpha-tenors, although separately gifted, each revel in making complex passages sound simple and seamless. Their rendition of the Rodger's/Hart ballad "It never entered my mind" is as timeless as it musically pure; the two saxophones exchanging melodies as if they were engaged a cheerful coffee shop conversation: Hawkins displaying his remarkable knack for reproducing the lush tonality of the female disposition, while Webster chimes in with what sounds like laughter one moment, bitter nostalgia the next. Track six, "La Rosita" is a dynamic piece in which Hawkins plays with flirtatious vigor.

These are all studio recordings taking place between 53' and 57', so each song shines with clarity. I'm more for the ballads, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a handful of slow and sappy tracks. The Oscar Peterson Quartet backs most of the cuts, and Lester Young-Inspired Budd Johnson joins in on two cuts, making this disk a true showcase of talent. Overall, you will find this collection to be both medicinal and provocative. With such a colorful palette of tones, there is no day so rough that a dose of this disc couldn't cure.

There is some overlap with two sax lineup on the remastered "Coleman Hawkins Meets Ben Webster" on Verve (5 trax), but this CD is far more exciting. 2 trax are by Webster alone, 2 are by Hawkins alone. But the big fun is the interplay on the two 3-sax lineup cuts including the softer-toned tenor of Budd Johnson. And I'll never figure out why they left the gorgeous ballad "Maria" off of the remastered disc (but included redundant outtakes of the lesser "Blues for Yolanda"!) Buy it while it's still being sold used at a reasonable price.

Update, 5 years later:

I've gotten a lot of Ben & Hawk music since this one, but it remains a favorite. Oh yes, the remastering isn't up to today's standards (but still very good, Verve masters being what they are). All the material is available elsewhere. The two Budd Johnson cuts fail to reflect his compositional skills. But yet: played as a whole, it remains engaging throughout. Something seldom mentioned in reviews: the sequencing of the tracks is brilliant. All but "Maria" is readily available (in better fi) on reissues of the original albums from which these were taken. But by selecting material all in a blues vein, this CD provides a thread of continuity while the players change to provide variety. Desert Island stuff.