Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Oscar Peterson Trio: Tenderly

Oscar Peterson Trio: Tenderly

By AAJ Staff
October 20, 2002
View read count

Listening to pianist Oscar Peterson always triggers a profound sense of nostagia. The very first jazz recording I ever owned was a Peterson trio disc, long since lost to the winds. The memory sticks, though. Oscar Peterson has made a huge number of recordings in a variety of settings, from solo to orchestral, from piano to clavichord. His swinging style remains readily recognizable, owing obvious debts (as many critics have noted) to the crispy romps of Art Tatum and the deep lyricism of Nat Cole. On this recording he's joined by long-term collaborators Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. It's hard to imagine more sympathetic and intuitive companions. This trio has made a huge impact on jazz; the absence of a drummer evokes both freedom and responsibility from the group.

Tenderly documents an unreleased live Vancouver performance from August, 1958. Given the year and the fact that this was recorded live, the sound quality is outstanding. Peterson leads his group through a series of pieces ranging from soft ballads to racing up-tempo numbers. He takes liberties combining disparate styles in ways that preserve the overall mood and tone of each piece. Peterson's "The Music Box Suite," for example, engages a childlike simplicity of tone and harmony up front, only to proceed onward into gentle jazz lyricism. Ellis's "Pogo" jumps from straightforward unison lines into a full-fire blues jaunt. An underappreciated guitarist, Ellis can back the group up, push it forward, or ride gleefully on top. And while Peterson's virtuosity and melodicism are long the subject of legend, Ray Brown offers an understated intuition that distinguishes him as one of the best listeners in the history of jazz.

Make no mistake: this is a mainstream jazz recording. It offers tasty swing and a fine sense of spontaneity, but there's no sense of going where no man has gone before. Nevertheless, it's satisfying to see this fine celebration, worthy of comparison to Peterson's best, finally brought to light.

Visit Justin Time on the web.

Personnel

Oscar Peterson

piano

Album information

Title: Tenderly | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Justin Time Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Harmonica Galitzianer
< Previous

December
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.