Freddy Webster is often mentioned as a major influence on Miles Davis’s young career. However, Dizzy Gillespie also loved Freddy Webster for his lyrical talents. He called his trumpet sound “the greatest I have ever heard.” Webster was still in his teens when he started his own band. In the late ’30s, he was a member of Earl Hines’ band and Erskine Hawkins’. He then moved to New York where he worked with many top musicians during the ’40s, including Cab Calloway and Cab Calloway. Webster worked in the year before his death with Norman Granz, an impresario who founded Jazz at the Philharmonic. Webster’s status as one of jazz’s undiscovered heroes is supported by his few recordings, including “You’re Not the Kind”, backing vocalist Sarah Vaughan. Two versions of Webster’s own song, “Reverse the Charges,” were recorded with Sonny Boy Williams and Frank Socolow. Webster, who was 30 years old, died in Stitt’s Chicago hotel room. Although a heart attack was the official cause of death, a heroin overdose is long suspected. Allmusic
