Piano man

Oscar Peterson has been variously described as the perfect pianist, the man who made jazz popular to new generations, and a virtuoso with no soul. Whatever the bouquets and brickbats, one thing is for sure—with the possible exception of the legendary Art Tatum, there has been no other pianist who has swung so hard and furiously, while converting aficionados and dilettantes alike with his prodigious melodic and technical gifts. When the jazz great passed away in December at the age of 82, the entire music world bowed its head as one. In a career spanning over 60 years, he was a prolific recording and performing artiste, and even a paralytic stroke in the early nineties refused to slow him down. We take a look at two classic albums from his varied career.

 

On the town with the Oscar Peterson trio

This live recording was made in 1958, the last active year of Peterson’s first trio, which featured Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar. Peterson rushes through most of the songs at a breakneck tempo with notes falling in cascades from every bar, while Brown holds the rhythm nice and solid, giving the songs their driving rhythm, which is very infectious, despite the absence of drums. Ellis’s guitar tone is bright and swinging throughout and the frenzied blues interplay between the three musicians makes this album the definitive output of the trio. Highlights of the set include the opening Sweet Georgia Brown and the cover of Dizzy Gillespie’s The Champ. A surefire classic.
Label: Polygram Records

The very tall band what’s up?

In 1993, Peterson suffered a paralytic stroke that left him unable to move the left side of his body. His appetite for music, though, was as large as his personality, and he doggedly kept up his rehabilitation till he began performing live again from 1995. Three years later, in 1998, he teamed up with Ray Brown and vibraphone player Milt Jackson to play a series of dates in New York’s prestigious Blue Note club. That genius is permanent is made evident by the sublime interplay between the three musicians. Never known for restraint, Peterson allows Jackson enough space to stretch out on his instrument, while indulging in some deft interplay on Salt Peanuts and Ad Lib Blues. The standout track on this album (issued in 2007) though, is the wonderful The More I See You.
Label: Telarc