Compact Jazz: Oscar Peterson

Personnel: Oscar Peterson (piano); Ray Brown (bass); Clark Terry (trumpet); Herb Ellis (guitar); Ed Thigpen, Louis Hayes (drums).
Recorded between 1964 & 1966. Includes liner notes by James Isaacs.
Personnel: Oscar Peterson (piano); Herb Ellis (guitar); Clark Terry (trumpet); Ed Thigpen, Louis Hayes (drums).
Audio Remasterers: Tokiwa Kinoshita; Mark Wilder.
Liner Note Author: James Isaacs.
Recording information: Chicago, IL (08/17/1964-05/04/1966); Copenhagen, Denmark (08/17/1964-05/04/1966); Los Angeles, CA (08/17/1964-05/04/1966); New York, NY (08/17/1964-05/04/1966).
Unknown Contributor Roles: Clark Terry; Ed Thigpen; Louis Hayes; Ray Brown ; Sam Jones.
Taken from sessions for the Mercury label co-opted by Verve, this 11-tune set has pianist Oscar Peterson in exclusively small-group settings, mostly trios. Trumpeter Clark Terry joins in for the Peterson original "Roundalay" and a spirited "Mack the Knife." There's one other O.P. composition, the pensive "Wheatland," with the rest being a solid fare of standards, ballads, and blues. You expect Peterson to cut loose once in a while, and he does on a rip-roaring take of "If I Were a Bell." A compacted slice of his huge discography for sure -- there are larger collections from this mid-'60s time frame, and better single albums -- but these are good picks during what was a fruitful period for the great Canadian jazzman. ~ Michael G. Nastos