Verve To Release Ben Webster’s ‘King Of The Tenors’ On Remastered Vinyl
It’s the newest addition to Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series lineup.
Verve is continuing their Acoustic Sounds Series with the upcoming vinyl reissue of saxophonist Ben Webster’s 1957 record King of the Tenors. Like all albums in the series, King of the Tenors was remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Originally released as The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster for the Norgran label in 1954, the record’s title was changed to King of the Tenors when it was reissued on the newly minted label Verve Records in 1957. The album features Webster’s original composition “Bounce Blues” alongside jazz standards including Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Cotton Tail.” Throughout the 1930s, Webster played in the orchestras of major names like Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, and Ellington himself—though the two often found themselves at odds and Webster left his orchestra after three years.
Verve was the launchpad for Webster’s solo success, which continued through the 1950s and 1960s. During his time there, he produced the albums Soulville, Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster, The Soul of Ben Webster, and more. Earlier this year, Acoustic Sounds reissued 1959’s Ben Webster And Associates, which was founder Norman Granz’s last project with Verve.
First launched in 2020, the Acoustic Sounds Series produces audiophile-grade pressings of iconic jazz albums throughout history. The series includes LPs from legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Sonny Rollins, Mel Torme, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and more.
When the series launched, Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe, shared: “Verve and UMe have one of the richest jazz catalogs ever recorded and our goal is to give vinyl and jazz lovers the best possible versions of classic albums. The Acoustic Sounds series is designed to appeal to today’s most discriminating fans, looking for the very finest in both artistic content and audio quality.”
