How Deep is the Ocean — Ben Webster Transcription

Ben Webster — Biography

The Brute and the Beautiful

Benjamin Francis Webster was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on 27 March 1909. He began his musical life as a pianist and violinist before switching to the saxophone in his late teens, studying the instrument largely by ear and through the influence of the great players passing through Kansas City's thriving jazz scene. By the early 1930s he was working with some of the leading bands of the era, including those of Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk and Cab Calloway.

Webster's reputation was cemented during his years with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which he joined in 1940. As the band's first major tenor saxophone soloist, he brought a new emotional intensity to Ellington's music — his breathy, intimate ballad tone and hard-swinging up-tempo attack became central to the orchestra's sound. His playing on recordings such as Cotton Tail and All Too Soon from this period remains definitive.

After leaving Ellington, Webster worked as a freelance soloist and recording artist, producing a remarkable catalogue of small-group recordings that showcased the full range of his playing. He relocated to Europe in 1964, living first in London and then in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where he spent the final decade of his life. He continued performing and recording prolifically until his death on 20 September 1973. Alongside Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, Webster is considered one of the three most important tenor saxophonists of the swing era, and his influence on the instrument's ballad tradition is immeasurable.

Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson

Verve Records, 1959

Recorded in 1959 for Norman Granz's Verve label, Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson is widely regarded as one of the finest small-group jazz recordings of the era. The album pairs Webster's tenor saxophone with the Oscar Peterson Trio — Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums — a rhythm section whose sensitivity and swing provided the ideal backdrop for Webster's deeply expressive playing.

The repertoire draws from the Great American Songbook, and the ballad performances are particularly celebrated. Webster's reading of 'How Deep is the Ocean' — Irving Berlin's 1932 standard — is a masterclass in economy and emotional directness. Rather than embellishing the melody with elaborate ornamentation, he lets the tune breathe, shading each phrase with his distinctive breathy tone, subtle vibrato and perfectly placed inflections. The result is a performance that feels both spontaneous and inevitable.

The album captures Webster at the height of his powers as a ballad interpreter, and remains essential listening for any saxophonist seeking to understand the art of playing a melody with feeling, space and conviction.

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Ben Webster's Setup and Sound

An Extreme and Unique Approach

As mentioned in our previous Ben Webster tutorial, Ben Webster's sound owed a lot to his extreme and unique saxophone setup — a very open mouthpiece with a hard reed, combined with a very wide open key action on the instrument. In spite of this extreme setup, Ben is clearly able to articulate and shade his melodic phrases with immense subtlety and a huge palette of colours.

Practise playing along with Ben every day and try to copy his sound as closely as possible — all the detail, glisses, lip slurs, articulation and breath attack. Whatever your setup, you will be learning to communicate a phrasing language of extremes: subtle shade, delicate beauty and fiery intensity. Remember, you're in this for the long haul. Keep playing and listening and you will be amazed at the layered complexity of phrasing in this seemingly simple solo.

Ben Webster's Vocabulary

Harmonic Language and Melodic Approach

Dominant 13th Language

Two fantastic examples of how Ben Webster played diatonically over dominant chords, using both the angular approach favoured by Lester Young (see our transcription of Way Down Yonder in New Orleans), seen in Bar 9, and the use of the major pentatonic scale as in Bar 13 — allowing the rhythm section to play the harmony while using strong melodic structures to reach the higher extensions of the chord.

Dominant Flat 9 Chords

Bar 6 is a great example of how to resolve a dominant flat 9 chord (acting as chord V) to a minor 6 chord (acting as chord I). Reminiscent of the way Parker played these lines, it shows how the language of jazz feeds back and forth through the generations. Get a hold of some of these phrases for a neat yet melodic way to outline the voice-leading of this common progression.

Minor Chords

Ben makes distinct use of different vocabulary for minor chords, distinguishing whether they are functioning as chord I or chord II. Also note the use of the minor 6th (as in Bar 5) as a melody and colour note, contrasting with the flattened 6th over the minor dominant chords. This interesting contrast can teach you the difference between the 6ths, which requires a degree of intuitive understanding.

The Transcription — How Deep is the Ocean

Full Score — Ben Webster Tenor Saxophone Solo

The full transcription is shown below. Study the score alongside the recording — focus on absorbing Webster's articulation and phrasing, not just the pitches. Free PDF downloads for both tenor and alto saxophone are available beneath the score.