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Backgrounder: Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster

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Marc Myers
Sep 02, 2022
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Alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were a perfect pair. Hodges played with a smooth, bluesy sweetness while Webster offset that with his breathy, husky tone. Both recorded together in the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the 1930s and '40s, and they paired off again in the 1950s on small-group dates. My favorite recording featur…

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