Five-Star Collection... Young and Peterson

Saxophonists come and saxophonists go but Lester Young swings on forever. There may be other tenor men with more technique, some of them even with as much swing, but for what Lester does, no one has ever matched it.There is hardly a tenor saxophone player today who can play an entire chorus without playing some Lester Young. One of the least talkative of jazz musicians, in public that is, he has, to go back a few years in jazz slang, spoken a book every time he has played his horn. He is not called "The Pres" for nothing.

He is!

When he first made the jazz world conscious of his horn, sliding gently out of the Basie sax section and swinging and swinging and swinging in front of the band, he set the definitive style for tenors. He was "cool" long before the world even entered the jazz dictionary. In fact, he probably put it there, as he has made more than his share of contributions to jazz slang.

One of the things that makes Lester's music so valid is the fact that his playing experience goes all the way back to King Oliver, and his musical sources, therefore, include the whole range of jazz. Lester Young is closing his second decade as a major influence in jazz. You can tell, when you hear the sides in this LP, why he has remained on top so long.

On these sides, the Pres is backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio (Oscar, piano; Barney Kessel, guitar; Ray Brown, bass) and the drums of J. C. Heard. With musicians of this stature to complement his playing, he is allowed full rein for his creative talents. *Nat Hentoff, 1954 (from the liner notes)*

Lester is backed on all of these by Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and J. C. Heard. It looks as if the President may have decided to seek another term. These are Lester's most consistently exciting records. (Even with the few flaws) in months. Much credit is due the magnificent support given him by Oscar and his contingent, but Pres himself seems fully and vigorously interested in what's going on, something that's not always been so recently.

Fortunately, several of the tunes go beyond the three-minute limit, so there's plenty of room for building up to a wail, and that's what happens. And such a beat all the way!

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, May 19, 1954 [5 stars]*)

Lester Young • Oscar Peterson

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio is a 1954 studio album by Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson's working trio of the time (featuring Ray Brown and Barney Kessel), plus drummer J. C. Heard. The music on this album was originally released as three separate albums: Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #1 and Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #2, both released in June 1954 (MGN 5 & 6), and The President (August 1954, MGN 1005). It was collated for this 1997 reissue by Verve Records.

Lester Young (1909-1959) was one of the all-time great tenor-saxophonists, a non-conformist whose floating cool-toned style was much different than that of the dominant influence of the 1920s and '30s, Coleman Hawkins. Young defied stereotypes in his life and his music. While it was once widely taken for granted that, after his horrific experiences in the Army during World War II, his playing was never as good again, that has been disproven by his best recordings of the 1950s.

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio is a real gem. Recorded in 1952, Young is joined by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer J.C. Heard on some of his favorite swing standards. Young, like Louis Armstrong, had the ability to slightly alter melodies for the better through his phrasing, and to make every note count.

Among the many highlights of this classic album are Lester Young's versions of "Just You, Just Me", "Almost Like Being In Love", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Star Dust", "I’m Confessin'" and "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love". An unusual bonus is hearing Young’s only recorded vocal, a witty if tentative "It Takes Two To Tango" that went unreleased for decades.

Lester Young and Oscar Peterson (who proves to be the perfect accompanist in addition to contributing many concise solos) brought out the best in each other throughout this essential release. *Scott Yanow (syncopatedtimes.com)*

1 - Ad Lib Blues

(Oscar Peterson, Lester Young)

2 - I Can't Get Started

(Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin)

3 - Just You, Just Me

(Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages)

4 - Almost Like Being In Love

(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe)

5 - Tea for Two

(Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans)

6 - There Will Never Be Another You

(Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)

7 - (Back Home Again In) Indiana

(James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald)

8 - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

(Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh)

9 - Stardust

(Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish)

10 - I'm Confessin'

(Doc Daugherty, Al J. Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds)

11 - I Can't Give You Anything But Love

(Fields, McHugh)

12 - These Foolish Things

(Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey)

13 - (It Takes) Two to Tango

[rehearsal, false start and chatter]

(Al Hoffman, Dick Manning) 

14 - I Can't Get Started

[false start]

Lester Young (tenor sax, vocals [#13]), Oscar Peterson (piano),

Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), J. C. Heard (drums)

Recorded in New York City, November 28, 1952

Five-Star Collection... Oscar Peterson

The Oscar Peterson Trio

At The Stratford Shakespearean Festival

Throughout the flow of the various albums that the Trio has completed, many critics and listeners have remarked that the feeling and swinging qualities of our group seldom have been captured on records. They also felt that the delicate and communicative rapport that they sensed on our in-person appearances was usually lost in the mechanical and cold confines of a recording studio. I am inclined to agree to the extent that our group performs much better, speaking in a sensitive vein, in places, and under circumstances in which a live audience is involved. It is for this reason that I honestly believe that this recording of the Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival is our best to date.

Relatively speaking, everything was in our favor. First and foremost, the Trio was given two nights (which we shared with the Modern Jazz Quartet), in which to display a cross section view of our musical wares. Secondly, the audiences both nights were not only appreciative, but also cooperative, in that they not only were quiet throughout, but withheld their applause until the end of each solo or number, with the exception of places where they seemed moved to the point where they felt obligated to applaud. This type of genuine and spontaneous appreciation served only to inspire and encourage our efforts, and in no way hindered us.

Thirdly, we were aided by a very helpful John Lewis of the M.J.Q., who lent the engineer a hand in the control room in the monitoring of the Trio. Knowing most of our arrangements from past dual appearances of the two groups, John was able to foresee well in advance any change in the balance structure of the group. (...)

As for myself, I have never felt more relaxed and at ease at a recording session as I have at this one, and I feel that it shows in my playing. I hope that on hearing this album, the listeners agree with me. *Oscar Peterson (from the liner notes)*

Almost as if in answer to the discussion in the June 27 issue between Balliet, Ertegun, and Feather, comes this extraordinary album which presents for the first time the Peterson Trio in the magnificent unit sound it gets in person.

Throughout this album you will find the particular kind of down-home, funky swinging which characterizes the type of jazz more directly linked to the basic roots of the music. Wherever you find it, you will also find that the Trio has, whether or not the tune in question is a blues, given it a blues feel. For, in the final analysis, to play funky is to play with a blues feeling, a low down blues feeling ("how low and how wicked", as Bunk Johnson said) and you can do this with Cole Porter as well as with Memphis Slim by evoking the mood, feeling, and the sound with "blue" chords and notes. This is the folk link that Duke and Basie and the MJQ and others all exploit.

That the Peterson Trio is one of the best musical units in jazz has been accepted in most quarters for some time now. Until the appearance of this album, however, it has not been too easily demonstrated on disc. Here for the first time we have the boiling, bubbling, swinging beat that the group specializes in brought through onto disc. How High and Gypsy, as well as the wonderful Love You Madly, are perfect examples. In Flamingo it's the development of harmony that's striking, but in the other it's the back to the farm swing that's a complete gas.

The album, by the way, was recorded under the personal supervision of John Lewis. That's right. There should be more like this. *Ralph J. Gleason (Down Beat, July 25, 1957 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Falling In Love With Love

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

2 - How About You

(Burton Lane, Ralph Freed)

3 - Flamingo

(Ted Grouya, Edmund Anderson)

4 - Swinging On A Star

(Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)

5 - Noreen's Nocturne

(Oscar Peterson)

Side 2

6 - Gypsy In My Soul

(Clay Boland, Moe Jaffe)

7 - How High The Moon

(Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton)

8 - Love You Madly

(Duke Ellington)

9 - 52nd Street Theme

(Thelonious Monk)

Oscar Peterson (piano), Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (basss).

Recorded live at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Ontario, Canada, August 8, 1956

The Oscar Peterson Quartet (Album#1, Album#2 and one more...)

Heretofore, one of the disadvantages of making jazz records has been the restrictions of the ten inch 78 r.p.m. record, because all that you could do was three and one-half minutes of music, and your musicians had to produce their best in that short period. As a result, many musicians felt inhibited, and the excitement that comes from improvisation and from building to a climax has pretty generally been lost in this type of recording. 

I thought it a good idea to utilize the Long-Play record with Peterson, and I told him to play as long as he chose, (up to fifteen minutes), and forget the time. "Just play the way you feel". 

I'm sure you'll agree that "The Astaire Blues"’ is some of the most exciting jazz of any type put on record, and certainly nothing like it has been done before with the piano. And, try to restrain your foot from tapping to "Stompin' At The Savoy". Impossible! the beat is just too much!! 

Oscar is complemented by Barney Kessel, his analogue on guitar, and both are assisted by Ray Brown, probably one of the two or three greatest bassists in the country, and Alvin Stoller, a drummer with a thorough background in jazz from Tommy Dorsey's big band to Oscar Peterson's Quartet. If you own a phonograph that plays good records, then this is a must for your collection. *Norman Granz (liner notes)*

Oscar Peterson

The Oscar Peterson Quartet

This 1952 studio session is one of a few recordings made during guitarist Barney Kessel's brief tenure working with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown. Expanded to a quartet for this session by the addition of drummer Alvin Stoller, the group's extended workouts allow for a lot of showmanship, starting with Peterson's rapid-fire "The Astaire Blues", where the pianist's volcanic technique never fails to dazzle. The leader gives Kessel a bit more space in the subdued but swinging renditions of "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Body and Soul." Brown provides his usual strong pulse, while Stoller's rather light touch is welcome. Although reissued as a Book-of-the-Month Club LP during the '70s, this enjoyable session has been strangely overlooked for reissue on CD. *Ken Dryden*

1 - The Astaire Blues

(Peterson)

2 - Stompin' At The Savoy

(Sampson, Webb, Razaf, Goodman)

3 - Body And Soul

(Green, Heyman, Sour, Eyton)

4 - Oh, Lady Be Good!

(G. and I. Gershwin)

5 - Tea For Two

(Youmans, Caesar)

Oscar Peterson (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, February 26, 1952.