At Montmartre 1965-1966

Ben Webster

AllMusic Rating
8
User Ratings (0)
Your Rating

At Montmartre 1965-1966 Review

by Tim Sendra

Ben Webster at Montmarte: 1965-1966 collects previously unreleased live recordings made by the tenor giant in the legendary Montmarte Club in Copenhagen. The first nine songs were recorded on January 21, 1965. His band included the underrated hard bop pianist Kenny Drew and the solid rhythm section of Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and Alex Riel on drums. The songs were mostly numbers that Webster was very familiar with like "In a Mellotone" and "Cottontail," and while Webster's tone had been weakened by age, his melodic sense and amazing phrasing were still very much intact. It is a joy to hear him croon his way through a sultry version of "My Romance" or swing like a tornado through "In a Mellotone." Drew provides steady backing throughout and his solos are frequently breathtaking. The final three songs were taken from a May 12, 1966, date with Pedersen again on bass but Atli Bjorn replacing Drew on piano and Rune Carlsson behind the drums. Webster sounds quite a bit weaker; perhaps it was an off night, but he sounds like he can barely hold the saxophone up to his lips. The songs feature only a few bars of Webster anyway; most of the time is used up by the less-than-exciting soloing of the group. The light and dancing piano of Drew is sorely missed here. Still, the disc is worth pursuing for Ben Webster fans, if only to hear the first nine songs.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Pennies from Heaven Johnny Burke / Arthur Johnston	Ben Webster	06:12	Amazon
2	Blues in B Flat Ben Webster	Ben Webster	04:51	Amazon
3	My Romance Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers	Ben Webster	06:53	Amazon
4	In a Mellow Tone Duke Ellington / Milt Gabler	Ben Webster	07:19	Amazon
5	How Long Has This Been Going On? George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin	Ben Webster	07:04	Amazon
6	Sunday Chester Conn / Benny Krueger / Eddie Miller / Jule Styne	Ben Webster	04:22	Amazon
7	Someone to Watch over Me George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin	Ben Webster	05:14	Amazon
8	Cotton Tail Duke Ellington	Ben Webster	06:19	Amazon
9	Danny Boy Frederick Edward Weatherly	Ben Webster	02:39	Amazon
10	Gone With the Wind Herbert Magidson / Allie Wrubel	Ben Webster	08:26	Amazon
11	Cotton Tail Duke Ellington	Ben Webster	07:03	Amazon
12	My Romance Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers	Ben Webster	07:23	Amazon