Ben Webster studied the violin in elementary school. Later he taught himself how to play piano and played with a few bands. After hanging around with Budd Johnson for some time, one day he asked him, “How do you run a scale on that thing?” Budd Johnson showed him how to play a C scale on the saxophone and the rest is history.

I love the warmth of Ben Webster’s sound especially on ballads. Here he is playing “Old Folks” in 1970 with Teddy Wilson on piano.