Ben Webster
Acting
Biography
Ben Webster is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, known for playing in several bands and groups, including the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Born: March 27, 1909
Place of Birth: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Known For
Moments without Proper Names
Parks makes himself the subject, tracing his development as a person and an artist through a non-narrative abstract self-portrait that combines his photographs with his poetry, musical compositions and scenes from his films. It also features footage of Parks, plus interpretations of his personal reminiscences performed by actors Avery Brooks, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Joe Seneca.
John Coltrane Four Tenors
Four giants of the tenor saxophone -- including the legendary John Coltrane -- are featured in this collection of rare performances recorded in the '60s. Filmed for the television series Jazz Casual, which was hosted by the great jazz writer Ralph Gleason, John Coltrane: Four Tenors features Coltrane and his group (featuring Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner) from 1963, Ben Webster (with Jimmy Witherspoon and Vince Guaraldi) from 1962, Charles Lloyd (accompanied by Keith Jarrett and Jack de Johnette) in 1968, and Sonny Rollins (joined by Jim Hall and Ben Riley) in 1962.
Jam Session
Duke Ellington and Orchestra perform 'C Jam Blues'.
Cool Cats
Documentary on jazz giants Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon's 1962-76 European exile. Multiple film festival award winner. Director: Janus Køster-Rasmussen
Jazz Casual
Jazz Casual was an occasional series on jazz music on National Educational Television, the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service. The show was produced by Richard Moore and KQED of San Francisco, California. Episodes ran for 30 minutes. It ran from 1961 to 1968 and was hosted by jazz critic Ralph Gleason. The series had a pilot program in 1960, however the episode has been destroyed. 31 episodes were broadcast; 28 episodes survive. Most episodes included short interviews with the group leaders.
Filmography
as Self (archive footage)
as Himself
as Self (archive footage)
as Self - Saxophone
as Self - Tenor sax