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(1909-1973)
Kansas City native Ben Webster received a university education in music and, early in his career, played piano in silent movie theaters. He took up the tenor saxophone in 1930 and quickly began to make an impact in a number of Southwestern jazz bands, including one led by Lester Young’s father. He later found employment in several of the era’s great jazz big bands, including those led by Andy Kirk, Cab Calloway, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson and Fletcher Henderson. Webster came into his own during his initial stint with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, beginning in 1940. In later years, Webster led his own bands and was also an in-demand studio player, performing behind Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. His final decade was spent as an expatriate jazz musician, headquartered in Copenhagen, where he died in 1973."
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