Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2008
All the Ben Webster fans should try to get a hold of this jewell! First of all, there are three televised performances from the 60s (some live, some in studio), featuring, among others, Teddy Wilson, Kenny Drew and the young but quite brilliant Danish bass wonder - Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen...
And then there is a beautiful TV documentary from 1971, containing, among other things, few scenes from Ben's eveyday life in Denmark, some strings and two spirited club performances with Charlie Shavers, a spectacular (and musically very witty) trumpet player, another old friend of Ben's.
Naturally, Niels Pedersen was at hand for the performances from the 1971 documentary as well...
Incidentally, Shavers died in the year this documentary was aired (throat cancer, I believe; he was in his early 50s; even younger than Ben)
Admittedly, not all the recordings are on the same level (personally, I can't understand why some jazz giants actually love playing with strings), but most of the music is a great straightahead mainstream/swing jazz, perfect for all, as some would say, jazz neocons...
And the images of Ben and his friends are priceless!
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