I suppose the moment when jazz moved from an interest to an obsession with me was one evening in March 1955 at the City Hall, Newcastle. A concert comprising two sets. The first by the Oscar Peterson Trio and the second by Ella Fitzgerald with Don Abney on piano.
The bass and drums playing on that life changing evening, were Sammy Stokes and Tony Kinsey - both British.*
On this live album recorded for Radio Zurich in 1971, Peterson is at his supreme best and, with fellow legends Pederson and Hayes on bass and drums respectively, I'd be hard pushed to find a better piano trio recording before or since unless more buried treasures are unearthed by his widow, Kelly Peterson, who provides the album's notes.
Tatum was wonderful, and even though Oscar himself might have disagreed, when it came to sheer swing and a comparable technique, Peterson was, and still is even now - almost 15 years after his death (Dec. 23, 2007) - in my eyes, the greatest jazz pianist ever.
The standards are taken at various tempi ranging from the dreamy romanticism expressed in the emotive Young and Foolish which segues into A Time For Love, to Soft Winds that hits a nice groove before moving up a gear, to an amazing Mack the Knife.
Neither Louis, Ella or Bobby Darin came within a mile of this version and he didn't even need to sing! An extended out of tempo introduction had me wondering if I really was listening to Kurt Weill's song from The Threepenny Opera. The theme emerges briefly before our boy does something rash - he exceeds the piano speed limit by about a 1000 bars a minute!
I've concentrated on Oscar who rarely shared a stage with an equal but, in Niels Henning Ørsted Pederson, he found a soulmate. Ray Brown, himself a legend, had provided sound support in previous Peterson trios without ever overshadowing the leader. However, the Danish bass player was different, he met the American at the same level which maybe inspired both of them to the amazing heights they reached during their time working together.
Louis Hayes took a relative backseat but did the business driving it along. Any drummer who could handle the tempos that Oscar set had to be the best. He came in off the back of Cannonball's quintet which would stand him in good stead and he slotted in well.
If this sounds like a rave review then I've got it right! Lance
Available Nov. 27 - Mack Avenue Music Group (and usual suspects)
*The jazz press, as was their wont in 1955, praised the Americans but slagged off the two Brits who, to my ears, were excellent. But that's how it was back then - British rhythm sections and Scottish goalkeepers were fair game for those who'd never played an instrument or kicked a football but could spell and touch type.
The Lamp is Low; Younger than Springtime; On a Clear Day; Young and Foolish/A Time For Love; Soft winds; Mack the Knife; Where Do I Go From Here? On the Trail.
1 comment :
Well, I think you've sold the album to the BSH readership!
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