Description
Gerry Mulligan & Ben Webster – Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster – 180 Gram Vinyl Record
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster is a summit between two saxophonists whose instruments and temperaments could hardly be more complementary. Recorded in 1959 for Verve, the album pairs Mulligan’s light, agile baritone with Webster’s deep, breathy tenor, supported by Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis. The absence of a brass section leaves the two horns exposed in the best possible way.
Mulligan’s cool, linear phrasing and Webster’s grainy romantic sound create the record’s central drama. On Billy Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge,” Webster brings shadow and tenderness while Mulligan threads countermelodies around him. “The Cat Walk” moves with a slyer swing, showing how naturally the players can trade short statements without turning the session into a cutting contest.
The rhythm section is exceptionally responsive. Rowles’s piano joins the horns with understated harmonic detail, Vinnegar’s walking bass keeps the tempos buoyant, and Lewis gives each soloist a different cushion of cymbal and snare. “Sunday” and “Who’s Got Rhythm” feel relaxed on the surface, yet the ensemble is listening closely at every turn.
Mulligan had made pianoless quartet playing central to his reputation, while Webster carried decades of big-band and small-group experience from Duke Ellington onward. Their meeting works because neither tries to pull the other into his own style. “Tell Me When” and Mulligan’s closing “Go Home” preserve two distinct voices inside a genuinely shared session.
This 2019 Vital Vinyl Series edition is the single-LP, six-track album, not the later expanded Complete Sessions program found on some digital services. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl, it keeps the concise original Verve sequence and the conversational proportions that make the recording so satisfying.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
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