My Album Of The Week – ‘Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster’

*Updated April 2026

I am a major fan of Ben Webster’s music, as his rendition of “When I Fall In Love” is romance in its purest essence. When I found out Coleman Hawkins recorded an album with Webster, I could not contain my excitement. I had to see if the meeting of two of the greatest saxophone tenors in jazz history resulted in true musical bliss.

To boot, Oscar Peterson, my absolute favorite jazz pianist, serves as the pianist at large. What an incredible trio. It really does not get any better than them.

So far, every song from top to bottom has completely delivered. The highlight is “Prisoner of Love,” written in 1931 by Leo Robin and first recorded by Perry Como in 1945 as a massive hit. Vocally, no one has recorded a better version of this track than Frank Sinatra on his 1962 record Sinatra and Strings.

That means no disrespect to Como or Billy Eckstine, but musical interpretation is the specific magic Sinatra holds over everybody. Hawkins and Webster exude that exact same interpretive genius in one of the best jazz albums I have ever heard. Have a listen, explore the tracks, and enjoy this monumental record.

‘Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster’

The Anatomy of a Jazz Masterpiece

• “Blues for Yolande” (Coleman Hawkins) – 6:44
• “It Never Entered My Mind” (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 5:47
• “La Rosita” (Paul Dupont, Allan Stuart) – 5:02
• “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” (Cole Porter) – 4:15
• “Prisoner of Love” (Russ Columbo, Clarence Gaskill, Leo Robin) – 4:13
• “Tangerine” (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) – 5:21
• “Shine On, Harvest Moon” (Jack Norworth, Nora Bayes) – 4:49