Oscar Peterson: Tenderly

With Herb Ellis (gtr.) and Ray Brown (b.)

Listen to the release Tenderly (Live (2016 Remastered)) by Oscar Peterson on Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/album/g9ddgjcyszczb

https://spotify.link/mqTFlwwslDb

This has to be one of the most authoritative, swinging rhythm sections assembled at the date of their performance, August 8, 1958. I say “rhythm section “ even though Ellis is on guitar, and no one is playing drums. The piano, guitar and bass can each play harmony or melody, depending upon the artist’s choice. There is a lot of rhythm in this trio, so I say rhythm section. The prestidigitation of Peterson and Ellis on the third (and last) track on side A, a manically wild take on “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top,” spins circles around me. The youth of these performers amazes me, since I've been most familiar with their performances of their latter years. To think of some of the dearly departed jazz greats as barely out of childhood in 1958 (Peterson had almost turned 23 at the time of the concert!) is almost too unreal for me to grasp.

The classical touches of the beginning of “The Music Box Suite aka Daisy's Dream,” is surreal as well, for here we have classical-style guitar, bowed (arco) double bass, and piano being played by three of the greatest names who ever picked up the instruments in the jazz world. When Ellis breaks into “the jazz idiom,” as Peterson puts it in his spoken preface to the piece, it seems the classical is still carried along into this section. One passage sounds like the main theme of Weather Report’s “Birdland.” Both Peterson's piano, with his thoughtful touch, and Ellis's guitar, sing—and Peterson does a lot of scat singing too, heard faintly among the instruments. When Brown and Ellis join as a harmonic backup to Peterson's single-note runs, their instruments become as one.

I love jazz in concert. I love jazz recorded in concert. The recordings often capture something of the splendor of the event. I've heard, for example, that John Coltrane would aolo sometimes for 45 minutes. It's unfortunate that no such solos seem to have made it into commercial recordings, which would have been difficult simply due to their length. I've seen a photograph of guitarist John Scofield's pedalboard, and it has a “whammy” pitch-shifter and harmonizer pedal that must date back to the early to mid-90s. When does he use that? Not on any recordings I've heard. So, as I've suspected for some time, many established artists will perform in ways their studio recordings don't reflect, and in their live performances will experiment with hobby horses or other such not-ready-for-prime-time tricks and expansions on album material or cover songs.

“My Funny Valentine” has been done many ways. Here, Peterson plays elaborate chords and arpeggios, and Ellis joins for a bit. It's Brown on bass, who brings the melody out. Almost comically, Peterson plays part of the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata over the melody. Their take on the song is short and sweet. Ellis barely plays. Brown has his only melodic performance on the album. And Peterson, again, dips into the classical idiom.

This was one of the great jazz trios. It is also one I will share with an Oscar Peterson fan I know. Normally, Peterson is not what I'm looking for when I pick an album. I buy his music anyway. I listen.