Tenor saxophonist Walter Benton: "Out of This World"

Tonight the Jazz Feature spotlight is on a sadly neglected and forgotten great voice of the tenor saxophone: Walter Benton. Walter after touring with Latin bandleader Perez Prado Walter returned to his home town of L.A. and freelanced there until he decided to move to New York in 1960. Here he joined Max Roach and his band and achieved a higher profile. He was asked to do an album for Jazzland Records, a division of Riverside Records run by the indominable Orrin Keepnews. This album is our Jazz Feature but sadly Walter Benton's only album under his name. Walter was given carte blanche and he picked a young Freddie Hubbard on trumpet for the front line and Miles Davis' rhythm section for the rest with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums for the first session and Albert "Tootie" Heath replacing Cobb for the second session a few days later. This fine album has 5 good original compositions by Walter and two fine standards beginning with the title track "Out of This World" and Walter's ballad feature "Lover Man". The highlight is Walter's smoky sounding saxophone and his authoritative concept. Walter was a distinctive and original player who deserved much more recognition and opportunities than he received but I'm very happy to share this fine album with you as our Jazz Feature tonight.