Album DescriptionA tough guy and a sentimentalist wed in one tenor, Ben Webster played with a raspy and assertive approach on up-tempo tunes but purred like a pussycat on ballads. By 1940, he was considered one of the great three tenors in jazz (along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young), but he was still relatively unknown to the general public. That all changed when he joined Duke Ellington. The Duke knew how to showcase both sides of the great tenor, and he soon became a major jazz star, still a strong influence on jazz tenors to this day. This definitive compilation contains 21 of Webster?s greatest cuts, gathered onto a single CD for the very first time, with remastered sound, detailed notes by Scott Yanow, and rare historic photos.