****Ben Webster

For pure romantic intensity, the Ben Webster sessions that take up three-quarters of the two-CD set have rarely, if ever, been equaled. Webster seduces you with an insinuating, breathy tone, and he flirts with the melodies, decorating them with flattering embellishments and delicately squeezed notes. Disarmingly direct and sincere, his solos glitter with witty, unanticipated twists, occasionally bristling with bursts of fierce passion. Tracks such as "Blue Moon," "Early Autumn," "Love Is Here To Stay," and "Prelude to a Kiss" are some of the jazz ballad's highest achievements. If Webster's greatest assets are his virile wit and hushed ardency, Carney's are an unfancy directness and boldness of tone. On "We're in Love Again" and "Moonlight on the Ganges," Carney's power and fullness of sound and his modest, graceful solos are as seductive in their own way as Webster's. This is one of the year's essential reissues.

- Ed Hazell