Ben Webster - Chelsea Bridge (1964)

[boodabill]

Ben's in the pocket. The pianist could brush up on the chords changes.

[impala327]

cool harmonies. not Duke.



[metabolid]

Ben, you're the king.

[Blackgeoff1]

Beautiful! One of my favourite Billy Strayhorn songs.. (I've always liked the name - "stray horn") Nothing stray about Big Ben's horn though.. what a sound, no-one sounded like this guy . One of my first jazz albums years ago was the classic Gerry Mulligan meets Ben Webster, and they played this tune to perfection..

Great posting

[jeanhartely]

Thank you-- Gorgeous! Love Ben Webster, and I love Billy Strayhorn (sp?). The Edward Hopper of music. Thanks again.

[claitontesch]

Beautiful sond

[ghairraigh]

Notice Ben doesn't bury the microphone in the bell of his horn- this shows he comes from an earlier Era- and plays with a full tone from the time when there were no stage microphones. Playing off mic gives much more freedom to his, and his contemporaries' expressiveness. I've seen Masters such as Johnny Hodges, and younger musicians like Hank Crawford and Don Menza, use this same approach in club appearances at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. Study the microphone technique of Sarah Vaughan!

[834ann]

Makes me want to drink gin and dance...real slow. *sigh*

[56conn6h]

Touches the soul! Simply beautiful. Thanks for passing this along!

[guyleclairemusic]

was this in the UK? Rick Laird went on to join John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Cool

Ben sounds great

[mdwag57]

He reminded me there of Billie Holiday, singing a slow 'lover boy.'

[ssg263]

Ben Webster was simply the best ballad saxophonist. I would've loved to have heard him play ballads with Bill Evans.

[oliverecords]

This is timeless of course.

[paulostroff99]

As good as it gets.TY for posting.

[whitefeet1]

....because its always 3 AM somewhere.....

[thedogduncan]

2 words: magical masterpiece....

[daleam1]

@thedogduncan Hell yes it's pure magic. What mastery of tone and control. Incredible and beautiful!

[thedogduncan]

when i watch and listen to this vid, i dry my eyes frequently. if music can bring a grown man to tears, that's when you know it's freakishly awesome....

[thedogduncan]

probably one of the top 10 musical performances of all time. listen up, kiddies: this is PASSION, this is SOUL and completely understated. educate yourselves, dummies....

[UltraMN]

This is a gem. A carefully crafted masterpiece.

[duncankingdog]

ben was a great musician, case closed....

[duncankingdog]

the thing is people, jazz was huge, ben webster was huge, ameriican music was huge;. it really was and i'm not joking....

[duncankingdog]

5 stars....

[duncankingdog]

this was when music was huge. i miss those days....

[duncankingdog]

pure heart and soul....

[duncankingdog]

when i'm down and out, ben picks me up. there is no underestimating these jazz legends. THIS IS MUSIC, bitches....

[ocnoreen]

One of my faves, Chelsea Bridge! You don't hear this stuff on the so-called jazz stations any longer. They are busy playing some half-playin' lotsa' notes dudes. I am able to appreciate technicality as well as the next person, but sometimes leave out a few notes!

[thedogduncan]

THIS IS AWESOME. kiddies: listen, learn and take note....

[thedogduncan]

ben webster might be the greatest guy of all time. his performance of billy strayhorn's 'chelsea bridge' makes the case....

[thedogduncan]

in this day and age, it's scary to see real human beings making actual music. nowadays, it's all machines and douchebags. ben webster and co. will live on forever in my heart....

[ranaba006]

stan tracey n ben webster da best in da buzness

[thedogduncan]

this song is so sad and happy at the same time- it's like if you were about to jump off the chelsea bridge and all of a sudden you changed your mind and thought, "nahhhh, life's worth living". great performance by webster and crew....

[ChiTown7721]

Ben Webster is so good on ballads. One of my personal favorites. Along with my main man Lester Young :)

[ratsafrat]

@ChiTown7721

In '42, Young was in LA, playing with his brother, Lee. Another fine tenor, Bumps Meyers, was in the band too, One night, Webster came in and the 3 of them cut each other for about an hour. The greatest night of "jazz" I ever experienced.

[ChiTown7721]

@ratsafrat Wow, that had to be amazing! How I wish I could have been there for that! Unfortunately I was born in the wrong time period.

[raypizzi]

..... The master... not a dry seat in the house.

[2300skiddo]

My thumbs-up vote made it 98-2. Man, these two have got some high standards!

Thanks for sharing.

[m1ck57]

brilliant thanks 

[klezmando]

Ahh Just beautiful.

[panlemans]

Chicken skin music. This is so beautiful.

[helluvagun]

My commments are constantly lost in some space,

[VJSco]

ho yes

[TheTralfaz]

Rick Laird ,..who would have known...far out

[Easterfrog]

I have loved Webster since "The Girl in my Dreams... with Duke Ellington, that must have been in the 1950's?

Must try to get that recording again, haven't heard it the past 50 years...

[emceefisherprice]

i'd be forever in your debt (anyone) if you'd link to him playing 'danny boy'' its by far his best, in my opinion.. but this piece here is close 2nd. smooth doesnt describe it.. this is satan

[JazzWithoutANet]

Ben Webster is my idol. You could pour his melodies over pancakes....

Does anyone know what Mr. Webster's setup was in this session? I'm in the market for a tenor. Looking at Martins and vintage SMLs.

[musicissopretty]

I wish we could hear the whole song, and not just the bridge.

[antosax]

un tema che vale tutta la canzone grazie FROG

[lestmbly]

Whose that cool bass player in the back ground...

[DumbleSlidewinder]

That's Rick Laird! What's crazy about that is, he ended up being the bassist in the original Mahavishnu Orchestra!

[AlvarezCutaway]

Ben Webster : the best of the best. Listening him to play is next to the best: watching him. He knew the lyrics (if such existed) of all the music hed play; hence, the lyrical and organic quality of his touch. When Webster plays, he reminds me of Sarah Vaughn singing.

[zwartetoets]

At Ricky Gear:

Would you mind sending it to me? I wouldn't be using it for anything else than studying material.

Wonderful wonderful wonderful music!

[AlannahBabalon156]

Gorgeous tone, its like pure velvet coming out of your speakers when you hear it............wonderful performance.

[rickygear]

After re-reading an old Down Beat mag (15th year book 1970) there is a facsimile of a hand written arr. of Chelsea Bridge by a Roger Mills, taken from the individual parts, with co-operation of the Strayhorn estate. I am at present transcribing it using Sibelius software. It is written for 2AS, 2TS, 1BS, 4 Trps, 3'bones, and bass. The harmonic structure is amazing.

[yebyo]

simply wonderful

[ABrandsma]

Just love to hear Ben. Our bass player used to play with him when Ben lived in Amsterdam. In fact he did play on Ben's very last date.

[MehefinHeulog]

class

smooth pure class

[davidaud777]

beutiful music....what i would listen to while going to sleep

[cursestar]

strange, stan tracey gets the first solo after ben finishes the tune. he's a real underrated pianist though - in fact this whole band is great.

[JeraldRJ1]

Vibrato at the end is sweet. You can hear the air in the bell of the horn.

[solidred4]

there's another truly fabulous version played with an orchestra on the Ben Webster: Music for Loving on a Verve re-issue

[dennerlien]

A work of art!!!!!!

[davidutu]

smooooooooooooooooth, yeeeeeeeehhh

[salpaguit]

Ben, te vojo ben !

[soniajack68]

I love this song so much. I'm at peace everytime I hear it.

[rhxt1002]

Excuse me, is that the same Rick Laird from the Mahavishnu Orchestra?

[RattlerBK]

Sure is, he was about 22 at that time I read (1944-present). Doubled on upright and bass guitar.

[salpaguit]

So angry people don't be found anymore!

[PARABRAZ]

beautiful in those days....

[redcostas]

Ben is great

[antonics]

Ben Webster is The Best Tenor saxophonist in my book. A pity he died in 1972

[BrunoJazzmanLeicht]

Thanks for this post! It's always great to see the legends. Feel free to visit my blog with swingin' jazz galore (link in profile).

Best,

Bruno "Brew" Leicht

[JazzFanMan19]

Transcribe This Guy..... I have Transcribed everyone from Brecker to Parker.... But I must admit that I learned the most about sound from Ben Webster

[witavo]

I'm looking for the Album Blue Light.

I have already 2 LP's, both worn out. Fantastic.. The best ever,,,,,,we miss him.

[stillavril]

Great.

Love the bass playing too.

[gcw25]

Just fantastic - the best ever!

[Guitarstring187]

such heart and beauty

[BlockChordsRed]

beautiful.

[neilbombd]

I was looking for good Ben Webster performances of Chelsea Bridge, and this is phenomenal, thank you for uploading! Strayhorn was amazing.