Rachael B
Senior HTF Member
You have to order these discs from Europe but they are finger lickin' good! I got mine from Amazon France which is way more reasonable than one might suspect.
Let's get on to le hybride,
hybrid, stereo discs themselves. This is a series of 5 discs recorded at the home of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer in 1968. He sounds like a totally German dude. I've only bought two of them so far but that will soon change.
Everybody knows what flash guitar is. Oscar Peterson is a flash jazz pianist me thinks. He rips apart melodies and improvises so well that sometimes it's distracting in the sense that you're left thinking, how did he do that? He's not as totally amazing as, say, Keith Jarret but they don't play the same sort of stuff. Jarret composes very different, unusual music. Peterson mostly redefines standards and writes a few melodies himself, nothing advant guard like Jarret does.
I got Oscar Peterson Vol. IV, MY FAVORITE INSTRUMENT and Vol. III, THE WAY I REALLY PLAY.
MY FAVORITE INSTUMENT is just him solo on his favorite instrument. The analog tapes these SA-CD were made from are obviously in splendid shape despite their age. There are few flaws. Oscar's solo playing is a delight.
You get:
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
PERDIDO
BODY AND SOUL
WHO CAN I TURN TO
BYE, BYE BLACKBIRD
I SHOULD CARE
LULU'S BACK IN TOWN
LITTLE GIRL BLUE
TAKE THE 'A' TRAIN
As much as I dig Oscar solo, I like THE WAY I REALLY PLAY a little better. He's accompanied by Sam Jones on bass and Bob Durham on drums for it.
the tracks:
WALTZING IS HIP
SATIN DOLL
LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
SANDY'S BLUES *
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
NOREEN'S NOCTURNE *
* = Peterson originals
When I first put this disc on, I listened to the 10 minute version of SATIN DOLL 3 times in a row. It's the most intresting cover of it I've ever heard. He cuts the melody up so many ways it's totally fascinating. It's a waste of time for me to try to dream up too many superlatives to describe Oscar's playing. It simply must be heard. I'll leave it at that!
Unlike the solo disc, here, there is a relatively quiet audience that is seldom noticed except at the beginning and ends of songs.
Next time I'm at Amazon France I'll be ordering more of the series. These two have me sold. The acoustics belie their age and Oscar is a flash pianist supreame!
Let's get on to le hybride,
hybrid, stereo discs themselves. This is a series of 5 discs recorded at the home of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer in 1968. He sounds like a totally German dude. I've only bought two of them so far but that will soon change.Everybody knows what flash guitar is. Oscar Peterson is a flash jazz pianist me thinks. He rips apart melodies and improvises so well that sometimes it's distracting in the sense that you're left thinking, how did he do that? He's not as totally amazing as, say, Keith Jarret but they don't play the same sort of stuff. Jarret composes very different, unusual music. Peterson mostly redefines standards and writes a few melodies himself, nothing advant guard like Jarret does.
I got Oscar Peterson Vol. IV, MY FAVORITE INSTRUMENT and Vol. III, THE WAY I REALLY PLAY.
MY FAVORITE INSTUMENT is just him solo on his favorite instrument. The analog tapes these SA-CD were made from are obviously in splendid shape despite their age. There are few flaws. Oscar's solo playing is a delight.
You get:
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
PERDIDO
BODY AND SOUL
WHO CAN I TURN TO
BYE, BYE BLACKBIRD
I SHOULD CARE
LULU'S BACK IN TOWN
LITTLE GIRL BLUE
TAKE THE 'A' TRAIN
As much as I dig Oscar solo, I like THE WAY I REALLY PLAY a little better. He's accompanied by Sam Jones on bass and Bob Durham on drums for it.
the tracks:
WALTZING IS HIP
SATIN DOLL
LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
SANDY'S BLUES *
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
NOREEN'S NOCTURNE *
* = Peterson originals
When I first put this disc on, I listened to the 10 minute version of SATIN DOLL 3 times in a row. It's the most intresting cover of it I've ever heard. He cuts the melody up so many ways it's totally fascinating. It's a waste of time for me to try to dream up too many superlatives to describe Oscar's playing. It simply must be heard. I'll leave it at that!
Unlike the solo disc, here, there is a relatively quiet audience that is seldom noticed except at the beginning and ends of songs.
Next time I'm at Amazon France I'll be ordering more of the series. These two have me sold. The acoustics belie their age and Oscar is a flash pianist supreame!
