The Ben Webster Quintet Soulville (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g LP

Michael Fremer Rated 9/10 Music, 8/10 Sound!

Soulville is quintessential Ben Webster: intimate, tender, endlessly expressive. Webster was internationally recognized as one of jazz's elder statesman when he recorded this album in 1957, but the youthful fire that had marked his playing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra two decades earlier was undiminished.

Soulville is easily the best of his albums for Verve, with Webster's breathy tones given a fitting accompaniment by Oscar Peterson and his group, then including bassist Ray Brown, guitarist Herb Ellis, and understated drummer Stan Levey. Leading this stellar combo through a program consisting mostly of vintage pop tunes, the great tenor saxophonist is at his peak. Versions of "Lover Come Back to Me" and "Makin' Whoopee" sound excellent, but bluesy originals such as "Last Date" and the title track are truly outstanding. A quality set from start to finish.

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile-grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets.

Pour a glass, take a sip, relax, and relish a high fidelity time capsule glimpse into a much simpler era when much of the jazz scene was a stress reliever not a provocateur.