Home » Jazz Articles » Film Review » Oscar Peterson Trio '77

343

Oscar Peterson Trio '77

By

View read count
Oscar Peterson Trio
Oscar Peterson Trio '77
Eagle Rock Entertainment
2005

The combination of Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Niels Pedersen in performance could well lead one to salivate at the prospect of listening to them play. It does, and as well, succeeds to a great extent. All three were on the marquee in Montreux in 1977, though not slated to play together. How that came to be is revealed in an interesting interview with Pedersen. It's enough to say that there was a bit of manipulation involved. That it worked deserved a tip of the hat to the manipulator or two.

Peterson opens with three quick solos, sweeping all with a swift tempo in a collective lesson of technical virtuosity. In the interview, Pedersen acknowledges with a twinkle in his eye, that Peterson was probably setting them up for what was to come. And he does, playing with a luminescence that creates whirling magical spells, a benevolence that often pays rich dividends. He is strong on the blues, and even gives "People" a deep rub of the hue. The fluidity and the dynamics that Brown brought in are the stuff that legend is made of, and legend comes alive in his exceptional motifs. Pedersen casts his own shadow, melody being his vantage take off point. Perhaps nothing illuminates that better than his solo on "There is no Greater Love."

Besides the interview with Pedersen, the extras comprise a presentation by Nat Hentoff, drawings by David Stone Martin and photographs by Georges Braunschweig. In the photos section, drummer Jimmie Smith is called Jimmy Smith and a picture of Ray Brown has been lumped in with those of Ray Bryant.

Track Listing: Falling in Love with Love; Old Folks; Indiana; There is no Greater Love; You Look Good to Me; People; Reunion Blues; Teach Me Tonight; Sweet Georgia Brown

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Jazz article: Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Jazz article: The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins
Jazz article: Marley: Collector's Edition (2DVD)
Jazz article: Bob Dylan: A Complete Unknown

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.