"Ben Webster: Valentine's Day 1964 - Live!" on Dot Time Records

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Dot Time Records is honored to announce it has just released its latest 'Legends' edition recording; Ben Webster: Valentine's Day 1964!

In 1963 Ben Webster moved to New York with a renewed energy. He was seen sitting in with Duke Ellington on opening night at Basin Street East and becoming the spontaneous pianist for Gerry Mulligan's Concert Band at Birdland. He gigged at the Shalimar, Birdland and the Half Note with a quartet of revolving personnel. This recording captures just one such night. Ben's sidemen, Dave Frishberg, Richard Davis and Grady Tate were more than twenty years his junior, but the language they shared was trans-generational. In late 1964, Webster left for a gig in London at Ronnie Scotts and never returned, spending the remaining nine years of his life living and playing in Europe. This is one of his last performances in the USA.

Featuring 10 tracks from the legend known affectionately as "The Brute", this recording is already receiving critical acclaim. Michael Cuscuna of Mosiac Records provides in-depth liner notes and opinion stating; "This is one of his last great performances at home." Jazz Rag (UK) quips; "This fine set is a worthy addition to the corpus of Ben Webster recordings." Downbeat quipped, "...reminds listeners that one of Webster's hallmarks was his way with a ballad, his horn both achingly eloquent and drenched in melody."

The recording is now available on CD and Digital platforms, released April 27th, 2018. The Vinyl production will be released on May 11th, 2018

Dot Time Records is a jazz, soul and world music label based in Long Beach, NY and Bremen, Germany. In 2015, Dot Time Founder Johanan "Jo" Bickhardt had a vision to release previously unreleased historical recordings from many of the greatest legends. Bickhardt sought out Jazz producer/historian Jerry Roche. Together they launched their "Legends" Series. Current releases include Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry Mulligan, Buck Clayton and more. All recordings are painstakingly restored and re-mastered with the goal of presenting these recordings in a modern format while striving to keep the original atmosphere of the recordings intact.

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