Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster long

I'm 48 and have been listening to jazz since I was 7 or 8. I have read about and listened to Coleman Hawkins for years but I never heard him , really heard his tone, until saturday night. Ben Webster took his first solo on track 2 of 'Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster' and though there are several good recordings of him this was a great moment. His bluesy tone was beautiful and I remember thinking " how is hawk going to top this?" At that moment Bean began to play and I just could not believe it. His tone was monumental. While he couldn't match Websters sweet blues his tone stuck me for what it was - one of the highest expresions of his instument. ( Webster came back and rather than try to outdo him he played his next solo so understatedly that for several bars he played using only the vebrato of his breath blowing over the reed with the horn barely making a sound - sublime) Now I finaly understood why all Hawks contemporaries loved him so and how he won all those late night cutting contests back in the 30's and 40's against the best competition available. It also hit me then why I (we) spend so much time on this crazy hobby. When you find a GREAT recording and play it on a quality system you understand what is was like to be in their presence. I UNDERSTOOD Hawkins in a way few others will who did not see him in his prime. I have found a few other very high quality recordings and my search for more will continue. I would be interested in hearing from others about their favorite classic jazz recordings. ( It beats arguing about cables.) - Jim