King of the Tenors

{{Infobox album

| name = King of the Tenors

| type = Studio

| artist = Ben Webster

| cover = King of the Tenors.jpg

| alt =

| released = 1954

| recorded = May 21, 1953
December 8, 1953

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Jazz

| length =

| label = Norgran (MGN 1001)
Verve (MGV 8020)

| producer = Norman Granz

| chronology = Ben Webster

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Music for Loving

| next_year = 1955

| misc = {{Extra album cover

| header = The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster cover

| type = album

| cover = The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster.jpg

| border =

| alt =

| caption =

}}

King of the Tenors is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ben Webster featuring tracks recorded in 1953 for the Norgran label and originally released as The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster (MGN 1001). The album was re-issued in 1957 on Verve Records as King of the Tenors (MGV 8020), and has been released with that title ever since.[http://www.jazzdisco.org/verve-records/norgran-records-catalog-1000-series/#mgn-1001 Norgran Records discography] accessed July 9, 2016 Webster is accompanied by The Oscar Peterson Trio, and, on several tracks, by Benny Carter and Harry "Sweets" Edison.

Reception

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz

| rev2Score = {{rating|4|4}}{{Cite book

| editor-last = Cook

| editor-first = Richard

| year = 2004

| title = The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD

| publisher = Penguin Books

| location = London

| isbn = 0-141-01416-4

| pages = 1,725| edition = 7th

}}

|rev3 = Tom Hull

|rev3Score = A{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=n.d.|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/jnotes/ej1950s.php|title=Essential Jazz Albums of the 1950s|website=tomhull.com|access-date=March 12, 2020}}

| rev4 = The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz

| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|chapter= Ben Webster |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz|year=1999|publisher=Virgin Books|isbn=1852277548| page=894}}

}}

Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars, with reviewer Ron Wynn describing King of the Tenors as "a series of elegant yet soulful and exuberant small group dates.... Although this date is more than four decades old, Ben Webster's solos have a freshness and vitality that make them quite relevant to contemporary events."Wynn, R. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/king-of-the-tenors-mw0000308183 Allmusic Review] accessed July 9, 2016

The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave King of the Tenors 4 stars out of 4, saying "'Tenderly' has never been more tender, 'That's All' is sheer heaven, but 'Jive at Six' is a good piece of studio knockabout."

In Someone to Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster, Frank Buchmann-Moller writes of the album: "These recordings show a broad spectrum of Ben's craft and can be heard as a summary of his artistic level at the time.... On the blues tunes 'Jive at Six' and 'Bounce Blues'... he plays with gusto and drive, and 'Cotton Tail' is exceptional, built up over six choruses, inspired and full of direction all the way....[I]t is the ballads that stand out, beginning with a one-and-a-half-chorus version of 'Tenderly,' in a rendition perfectly reflecting the title. Ellington's 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' is played at a medium slow pace... with Ben at his most lyrical, presenting the theme almost seductively."Frank Buchmann-Moller, Someone to Watch Over Me: The Life and Music of Ben Webster, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2010, {{ISBN|9780472025985}}, p. 146-147.