One of Oscar Peterson's biggest records ever – one of those albums we turn up time and time again when digging through classic jazz collections – and for good reason too, given the lasting power of the set! The album's got a rock-solid sound that's filled with soul – almost a bit more down and dirty than some of Peterson's earlier work, very much in the spirit of the group's hit performance of the title track. In a way, the album's almost Oscar's answer to some of the rising younger stars in the soul jazz scene – and is proof that the master still can do things as great as the artists he inspired. Ray Brown is on bass and Ed Thigpen is on drums – and tracks include "Bag's Groove", "Georgia On My Mind", "Easy Does It", "Band Call", and "Night Train". LP, Vinyl record album

With Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass – on titles that include "In A Mellow Tone", "Take The A Train", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", "I've Got It Bad & That Ain't Good". 7-inch, Vinyl record

The classic tunes of Duke Ellington are turned towards the soulful style of the Oscar Peterson Trio – in a setting that makes these familiar numbers come alive again with a whole new quality! The Peterson touch is quite different than the Ellington one – a bit less modern, especially in a small group setting – and filled with little flourishes that would never come out of the piano on one of Duke's recordings, but which flow freely here in the hands of Oscar. Rhythm is by the classic Peterson trio team of Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Ed's drumming is especially nice here, and helps to open up the easygoing feel of the set. Titles include "Sitting & Rocking", "John Hardy's Wife", "In A Mellow Tone", "Sophisticated Lady", "Take The A Train", "Rockin In Rhythm", and "Prelude To A Kiss". CD

... CD

With Herb Ellis and Ray Brown. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Always", "Say It Isn't So", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", and "How Deep Is The Ocean". 7-inch, Vinyl record

The Oscar Peterson Trio plays – and pretty nicely too! The album's got a simple, unassuming cover and title – but it delivers some rock-solid grooves that are very much in the spirit of Peterson's famous sound in the 60s – that classic combination of piano, bass, and drums delivered with the help of Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen – both players who helped Oscar set a whole new standard in piano jazz! Titles include the great groover "The Strut" – plus "Little Darlin", "Fly Me To The Moon", "This Nearly Was Mine", "Let's Fall In Love", and "Little Right Foot". CD

Includes the songs "I've Got A Crush On You", "Oh, Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?", "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)", "Summertime", "Who Can I Turn To?", "Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye", "A Child Is Born", "Once Upon A Summertime", "Time And Again", "Little Girl Blue", "I'm A Fool To Want You", "Ballad To The East", "I Loves You, Porgy", and "Sophisticated Lady". CD

A really unique Oscar Peterson session for Verve – one that has him playing with orchestral backing from Buddy Bregman, and even doing a bit of singing on a few tracks! The orchestral side of things is really great – warm, lush, and dreamy backings that even have a bit of vocals from time to time – and Oscar solos beautifully with a light and gentle touch that's even more easygoing than his usual sound. The vocals on the album appear on 4 tracks, and have a nice Nat King Cole-ish sound that's a nice surprise! Titles include "Echoes", "Song To The Stars", "Why Oh Why", "Chanel", "Soft Sands", and "It Happens Every Spring". CD

Two sets, recorded live in Lebanon and Amsterdam. Tracks include "Yesterdays", "Makin' Whoopee", "Body And Soul", "Blues Etude", "Corcovado", "Mirage", and "Autumn Leaves". CD

Oscar Peterson on piano, Ulf Wakenius on guitar, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums. CD

Clean, clear, and incredibly soulful – a wonderful rare live performance that's way more than just another muddy concert record – and instead a key addition to the Oscar Peterson catalog that stands proudly with his best Verve albums of the time! This 1960 performance features Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – a pair who've already reached rhythmic vitality in the company of Peterson, and fill the album's long tracks with loads of creative interplay – shifting sounds that move way past the obvious, and create grooves that really set Oscar's piano lines on fire! Titles include "Jordu", "Cubano Chant", "Con Alma", "Daahoud", and "Politics & Poker". CD

Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on double bass, and Ed Thignen on drums. CD

A wonderful set of laidback tracks from Peterson – featuring a good mix of tunes from Brazilian sources, soundtracks, and a few nice 60s pop numbers. The group here features Sam Jones on bass and Bob Durham on drums – and while the album might have sparkled a bit more with some added arrangements – Peterson's in an expansive mode that makes the spare trio setting still groove with enough of a flair to keep our ears interested. Titles include "Tristeza", "Nightingale", "Triste", "Watch What Happens", "Down Here On The Ground", and "Fly Me To The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

A striking little record – and the kind that both players could only have made with the new freedoms in jazz recording of the 70s! Although Peterson and Gillespie had played together before on earlier Verve albums, the setting was never like this – because the album's only a duet between trumpet and piano, with no other instrumentation at all – yet the sound is amazing swinging! Peterson works almost as a one man rhythm section here – bouncing the tunes with plenty of hard inflections on his left hand – and setting up a swing that Dizzy blows over with warmly muted tones. There's a quality here that's personal – but not in that "oh look at us, we're such big stars" sort of way – and titles include "Mozambique", "Caravan", "Dizzy Atmosphere", "Blues For Bird", and "Con Alma" – always a treat to hear in a setting like this! LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully laidback blowing from the great Ben Webster – captured here in perfect late 50s formation, with wonderful rhythm support from the Oscar Peterson Trio! The tunes aren't super-long, but still have a relatively open feel – possibly improvised in the studio, with a mellow but deeply soulful sound throughout, thanks to Webster's massive tone on the tenor sax. Peterson's on piano, and other players include Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and titles include "The Touch Of Your Lips", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning", "Sunday", and "This Can't Be Love". CD

Itzhak Perlman on violin, Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Grady Tate on drums. CD

Oscar Peterson on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. CD

A near-lost gem in Oscar Peterson's mid-50s catalog for Verve – and a sparkling set of trio numbers recorded at the Shakespeare Festival in Ontario! Despite the literate setting of the recording, the work's never stuffy or academic – and Peterson swings things mightily with his trio that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. The recording quality is wonderful – deep, rich, and luminous – at a level that almost makes us say "why didn't they stop here, since Oscar sounds so perfect?" Titles include "Love You Madly", "52nd Street Theme", "Flamingo", "How About You", and "Noreen's Nocturne". CD

We couldn't think of a better title for this one – as Oscar's in perfect form, crafting lightly shaded tones on the keys – and working with the guitar/bass drumless trio format that made his work so fluid in the 50s. The album's as seductive as its title and beautiful cover, and Oscar performs wonderfully on tunes that include "You Go To My Head", "My Old Flame", "Angel Eyes", "Unforgettable", "Moonglow", and "I Can't Get Started". CD

The sound of the trio is loud and clear on this set – captured before a very appreciative crowd at the London House in Chicago, and featuring Peterson at his inventive best! The tracks on the set stretch out longer than most of the group's studio sessions from the time, and the album's recorded in a great way that also includes Oscar's mumbling at the keys – that humming and grunting style that isn't always caught on record, but which adds a great deal of grit and humanity to the record – especially considering his fluid grace on the piano! As usual, Ray Brown is on bass and Ed Thigpen's on drums – and titles include "Tricotism", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Thag's Dance", and "Kadota's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson and Benny Green on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. CD

A great date in which Eddie Cleanhead Vinson sticks only to alto sax – and doesn't vocalize at all – reminding us once again that he's a hell of a jazz player when he wants to be! Vinson plays here in a small combo led by pianist Oscar Peterson, who sets up an easygoing groove in his usual Pablo mode – cut through nicely by Eddie, who seems to give the record more of an edge than some of Oscar's other 70s dates! Trumpeter Harry Edison is also in the lead, and other players include Joe Pass on guitar, Dave Young on bass, and Martin Drew on drums – on titles that include "What's New", "Slooow Drag", "This One's For Jaws", "Stuffy", and "Broadway". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Freddie Hubbard's very much in a back-to-basics mode at this point in his career – and what better place to go back to basics than at the Pablo label, where Freddie's working in an acoustic mode with the Oscar Peterson combo! The style is a far cry from Hubbard's electric records of the 70s – but the tunes still have a nicely spacious feel that shows lessons learned at CTI – a style that makes Peterson sound a bit hipper than usual, and which definitely has Freddie as the boss of the set. Other players include Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums – and tracks include "All Blues", "Thermo", "Weaver Of Dreams", "Portrait Of Jenny", and "Tippin". CD

An overlooked 60s gem from Oscar Peterson – one of his great sides for Limelight Records, and possibly the most soulful of the bunch! The group's a trio – with either Sam Jones or Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – and they've got a really great feel, one that's a bit different than some of Oscar's earlier groups of the 60s. Hayes' work on drums is nicely sensitive, and almost takes backseat to Peterson's rhythmic piano lines at times – and Jones' work on bass is always a treat, and kicks some of the best tracks here into a really great groove! The record's got a few great original titles, too – like the midtempo groover "Bossa Beguine", and the groovy "L'Impossible", a cool little instrumental that sounds like it was from a soundtrack by Francis Lai or Michel Legrand, and the title track "Blues Etude". Other titles include "Let's Fall In Love", "Shelley's World", "I Know You Oh So Well", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

An overlooked 60s gem from Oscar Peterson – one of his great sides for Limelight Records, and possibly the most soulful of the bunch! The group's a trio – with either Sam Jones or Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – and they've got a really great feel, one that's a bit different than some of Oscar's earlier groups of the 60s. Hayes' work on drums is nicely sensitive, and almost takes backseat to Peterson's rhythmic piano lines at times – and Jones' work on bass is always a treat, and kicks some of the best tracks here into a really great groove! The record's got a few great original titles, too – like the midtempo groover "Bossa Beguine", and the groovy "L'Impossible", a cool little instrumental that sounds like it was from a soundtrack by Francis Lai or Michel Legrand, and the title track "Blues Etude". Other titles include "Let's Fall In Love", "Shelley's World", "I Know You Oh So Well", and "Stella By Starlight". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing set – the complete early Oscar Peterson recordings for Norman Granz – packaged in a format that's as lovely as the music itself! The work here is the stuff of legend – the tracks that first pushed Peterson into the limelight of American music, and which opened up a whole new side of jazz improvisation! Although Oscar's made many great records over the years, we're really partial to these initial tracks – as they offer up the Peterson genius at its purest, most basic – often presented with only bass for accompaniment, played by Ray Brown or Major Holley – so that you get plenty of space to hear Oscar open up on the keys! The 3CDs come wrapped inside a hardcover book, which itself is in a beautiful slipcover – filled with full notes on the music, and color reproductions of the album covers that originally contained the music – Oscar Peterson At Carnegie Hall, Tenderly, Keyboard, and An Evening With Oscar Peterson – not to mention a wealth of smaller 7" and 10" releases that are also featured here. There's a total of 50 tracks in all – including two previously unissued numbers, and great bonus tracks as well – a true treasure for fans not only of Peterson, but of jazz piano in general! Titles include "Gai", "Padovani", "Fine & Dandy", "Deep Purple", "Squatty Roo", "Little White Lies", "Debut", "Oscar's Blues", "Tico Tico", "What Is It", "Minor Blues", "The Nearness Of You", "Dark Eyes", "Laura", "There's A Small Hotel", "Fancy Free", and "On The Alamo". CD

Features Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – plus guest trumpet from Roy Eldridge! CD

With Benny Carter on alto sax, Ray Brown on bass, Lewis Nash on drums & Clark Terry on trumpet. CD

An unusual album from Oscar Peterson – in that it has him playing electric piano as well as acoustic – in a quartet with Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Pedersen on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Oscar Peterson's biggest records ever – one of those albums we turn up time and time again when digging through classic jazz collections – and for good reason too, given the lasting power of the set! The album's got a rock-solid sound that's filled with soul – almost a bit more down and dirty than some of Peterson's earlier work, very much in the spirit of the group's hit performance of the title track. In a way, the album's almost Oscar's answer to some of the rising younger stars in the soul jazz scene – and is proof that the master still can do things as great as the artists he inspired. Ray Brown is on bass and Ed Thigpen is on drums – and tracks include "Bag's Groove", "Georgia On My Mind", "Easy Does It", "Band Call", and "Night Train". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson is joined here by bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and drummer Martin Drew Lorne – both artists that worked with Peterson in the 70's – plus relative newcomer Lorne Lofsky on guitar. CD

Count Basie taken down a few notches – not in quality, but in terms of the size of the group – as Oscar really opens up some of the Count's standards in a whole new way, by playing them with a stripped-down quartet that features Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums. Given that Rich is working with the Peterson trio, their sound has a bit more bottom than on some other Verve sides from the time – grooving things nicely in a true Basie way, on a set of tunes that includes "Blues For Basie", "Broadway", "Topsy", "One O'Clock Jump", and "Jive At Five". CD

Cole Porter's tunes are great enough on their own, but Oscar really opens them up on this set – picking up the inherent rhythms in the numbers and really working them over – in a way that makes the outing one of the most lively in Peterson's songbook series for Verve! Oscar's fluid touch on the keys is perfect throughout – taking lots of chances, but always strongly following the melody – and rhythm accompaniment is from the usual team of Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include "In The Still Of The Night", "Love For Sale", "It's All Right With me", "Just One Of Those Things", "Night & Day", "It's De-Lovely", and "I Love Paris". CD

A late songbook entry for Oscar Peterson, and a great one too – a record that really has Peterson setting fire to a host of classic Jerome Kern compositions, in his legendary trio with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums! Thigpen's unique rhythmic conception brings a lot to the record – whimsically stepping out from the bottom to match Peterson's fluid touch on the top – and in a way, it's almost the solid, soulful pulse of Brown that glues the whole thing together, letting the other trio members really have some fun with the tunes. Titles include "Bill", "I Won't Dance", "Long Ago & Far Away", "Pick Yourself Up", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Yesterdays", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". CD

Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass. CD

A near-lost gem in Oscar Peterson's mid-50s catalog for Verve – and a sparkling set of trio numbers recorded at the Shakespeare Festival in Ontario! Despite the literate setting of the recording, the work's never stuffy or academic – and Peterson swings things mightily with his trio that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. The recording quality is wonderful – deep, rich, and luminous – at a level that almost makes us say "why didn't they stop here, since Oscar sounds so perfect?" Titles include "Love You Madly", "52nd Street Theme", "Flamingo", "How About You", and "Noreen's Nocturne". LP, Vinyl record album

The Oscar Peterson Trio plays – and pretty nicely too! The album's got a simple, unassuming cover and title – but it delivers some rock-solid grooves that are very much in the spirit of Peterson's famous sound in the 60s – that classic combination of piano, bass, and drums delivered with the help of Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen – both players who helped Oscar set a whole new standard in piano jazz! Titles include the great groover "The Strut" – plus "Little Darlin", "Fly Me To The Moon", "This Nearly Was Mine", "Let's Fall In Love", and "Little Right Foot". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare pre-Verve material from the great Oscar Peterson – a host of early tracks recorded for RCA in the 50s! If you think that Peterson only emerged fully-formed in the hands of Norman Granz during the 50s, then think again – because this work really shows a young player already hitting tremendous heights – full, fluid, and very commanding – at a level that's kind of a rougher around the edges version of his Verve years – but in a great way! Peterson echoes some of his predecessors a bit – and you can hear a bit more proximity to Erroll Garner or Eddie Heywood in the way he embraces the rhythms with his solos – but the overall presentation is still pure Oscar. Titles include "China Boy", "I Got Rhythm", "My Blue Heaven", "Honeydripper", "Humoresque", and "The Sheik Of Araby". Plus, this amazing CD features a huge amount of bonus tracks from the same time – more than the 8 on the original 10" release – and also material from later RCA albums that issued other singles from the time, including a few that only ever came out overseas. A massive 49 tracks in all – and a very rich look at Oscar Peterson in the pre-Verve years! CD

With Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar, Benny Green on piano, Roy Hargrove on flugelhorn, Shirley Horn on vocals, Milt Jackson on vibes, the Manhattan Transfer on vocals, Lewis Nash on drums, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, Clark Terry on vocals & trumpet, Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone. CD

A beautiful pairing of these two legendary pianists – heard late in the Basie career, in a setting that lets both of them open up nicely! Basie also plays a bit of organ, too. CD

A striking little record – and the kind that both players could only have made with the new freedoms in jazz recording of the 70s! Although Peterson and Gillespie had played together before on earlier Verve albums, the setting was never like this – because the album's only a duet between trumpet and piano, with no other instrumentation at all – yet the sound is amazing swinging! Peterson works almost as a one man rhythm section here – bouncing the tunes with plenty of hard inflections on his left hand – and setting up a swing that Dizzy blows over with warmly muted tones. There's a quality here that's personal – but not in that "oh look at us, we're such big stars" sort of way – and titles include "Mozambique", "Caravan", "Dizzy Atmosphere", "Blues For Bird", and "Con Alma" – always a treat to hear in a setting like this! CD

The piano of Oscar Peterson meets the vibes of Milt Jackson – and the result is a wonderfully groovy set! We can't remember when the 2 players had worked together before in order to have such "reunion" – but they work together beautifully on this session, with Jackson's vibes bringing in a whole new range of colors, tones, and sounds to the usual Peterson set! As with the other MPS recordings in Oscar's career, the sound here is impeccable – very well done, and in a way that has the ringing tones of both players floating in air beautifully next to each other. Ray Brown's bass and the drums of Louis Hayes complete the group – and titles include "Satisfaction", "Dream Of You", "When I Fall In Love", "Red Top", "Reunion Blues", and "Some Day My Prince Will Come". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". CD

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". CD

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A live set from the Oscar Peterson Trio – with Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Peterson on piano – plus a little extra help from drummer Bobby Durham. Tracks include "Falling In Love With Love", "Billie's Bounce", and "I Wished On the Moon". CD

A beautiful pairing of these two legendary pianists – heard late in the Basie career, in a setting that lets both of them open up nicely! Basie also plays a bit of organ, too. LP, Vinyl record album

Freddie Hubbard's very much in a back-to-basics mode at this point in his career – and what better place to go back to basics than at the Pablo label, where Freddie's working in an acoustic mode with the Oscar Peterson combo! The style is a far cry from Hubbard's electric records of the 70s – but the tunes still have a nicely spacious feel that shows lessons learned at CTI – a style that makes Peterson sound a bit hipper than usual, and which definitely has Freddie as the boss of the set. Other players include Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums – and tracks include "All Blues", "Thermo", "Weaver Of Dreams", "Portrait Of Jenny", and "Tippin". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done live set from the legendary pianist Oscar Peterson – and one that resonates strongly with his earlier material for the Pablo label, given that the group also features guitarist Joe Pass! The live setting is really used well here – as there's two extremely long cuts – a 19 minute "Duke Ellington Medley", and an equally long "Salute To Bach" – bringing jazz improvisation to territory that we're not sure we've heard Peterson or Pass play before! The other tracks are all nice and long too – and the group features Dave Young on bass and Martin Drew on drums – on titles that include "Cool Walk", "Sushi", "Love Ballade", "Cakewalk", "Soft Winds", "A Time For Love", and "Waltz For Debby". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson on piano – playing solo, or in a trio with bassists Ray Brown or Sam Jones, and Bobby Durham, Ed Thigpen, or Louis Hayes on drums. CD

Features Peterson on piano, Ray Brown or Sam Jones on bass, and Bobby Durham or Ed Thigpen on drums. CD

The fourth in the MPS reissue series of long unreleased late 60s recordings from the home of producer/engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer finds Oscar Peterson in a glorious solo piano mode! All of the recordings in the series were from very relaxed, loose sessions that were some of Peterson's favorite of the time – and they're done in a mode that has Oscar playing loosely and soulfully throughout. Titles include "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Perdido", "Body And Soul", "Bye, Bye Blackbird", "Lulu's Back In Town", Little Girl Blue", "Who Can I Turn To", "Take The 'A' Train" and more. CD

A nice quartet session – with Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums! CD

A nice quartet session – with Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

Herb Ellis is reunited with the Oscar Peterson trio – in a sweet set of mellow grooving tunes that stretches nicely beyond their earlier work for Verve! Rhythm is by the team of Sam Jones and Bobby Durham, and the tracks are mostly standards, played with a light and magical touch and that rare ease that Peterson and Ellis always seemed to have in the studio. There's a warmth here that's evident from the very first note – and Herb and Oscar fit together so well, we find ourselves wondering why they ever parted! Titles include "Blues For HG", "Seven Come Eleven", "Exactly Like You", "Naptown Blues", "Hamp's Blues", and "Day By Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Much looser than usual for Oscar Peterson, and we mean that in a good way – a very open-ended jam session recorded at Montreux in 1977, produced by Norman Granz with very much the same style as his Verve sets of this nature from the 50s! Peterson's billed as the leader, but the pianist has some very bold company here too – Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry on trumpets, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor – all of whom get in some great solo moments on the album's longish tracks. Other players include Niels Orsted Henning Pedersen on bass and Bobby Durham on drums – and titles include "Ali & Frazier", "Just In Time", "If I Were A Bell", and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". LP, Vinyl record album

Pure genius from Oscar Peterson – one of his finest moments ever! The record is very different than most of Oscar's over-recorded trio format ones – and features Claus Ogerman crafting some impeccable backings of lofty strings and compressed horns, creating a pillow of air that takes Oscar's piano to the sky and beyond, floating into realms never dreamed of on other LPs! The set sparkles with a strident MPS easy groove – completely sublime, with a perfectness that we'd ascribe to a rare few albums, such as the similar-grooving Jobim album Wave, also helped out tremendously by Ogerman. Titles include "Dreamsville", "Sally's Tomato", "Sunny", "Wave", "Wandering", and "Ode To Billy Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Oscar Peterson's biggest records ever – one of those albums we turn up time and time again when digging through classic jazz collections – and for good reason too, given the lasting power of the set! The album's got a rock-solid sound that's filled with soul – almost a bit more down and dirty than some of Peterson's earlier work, very much in the spirit of the group's hit performance of the title track. In a way, the album's almost Oscar's answer to some of the rising younger stars in the soul jazz scene – and is proof that the master still can do things as great as the artists he inspired. Ray Brown is on bass and Ed Thigpen is on drums – and tracks include "Bag's Groove", "Georgia On My Mind", "Easy Does It", "Band Call", and "Night Train". CD

Material that was supposedly recorded during Oscar's "debut" during a Jazz At The Philharmonic show at Carnegie Hall. Ray Brown backs Oscar up on bass, and the tracks include "Fine & Dandy", "I Only Have Eyes For You", and "Carnegie Blues". Recorded by Norman Granz, and released on Mercury in the pre-Verve years. Very nice David Stone Martin cover, too. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes material from two early Jazz At The Philharmonic 10" LPs – Volumes 9 and 10 – with cuts that include "Nuages", "Avalon", "Come To The Mardi Gras", "Pompton Turnpike", and "Swingin On A Star". LP, Vinyl record album

2 classic albums from Oscar Peterson – packaged together in one 70s collection! First up is In a Romantic Mood – a rare "with strings" date! We love Oscar Peterson with strings – a setting he never got to use that often, given the popularity of his famous trio recordings! When Oscar gets set up with strings, he seems to play even more freely than with a combo – let loose from rhythm a bit more than before, and instead focusing strongly on melody – which often comes off with a warmly lyrical feel. This album's a rare entry into the Peterson strings category – a great 50s date with Russ Garcia backing Oscar up – giving the album just the right mix of mellow and modern to match Peterson's magical work on the keys! In a way, the album's a link between two different styles of 50s jazz – some of the warmer string-laden work of the piano mainstream, and some of the sharper sounds of the Verve modern approach to the style – served up here by Oscar in ways that bring both modes together perfectly, with just the right dash of both. Titles include "Laura" and "Tenderly" – both tracks you'd have to have on an album like this – plus "Black Coffee", "Ruby", "Stella By Starlight", "A Sunday Kind Of Love", and "I Thought About You". Next is another unusual set – Swinging Brass With The Oscar Peterson Trio – one of Peterson's few albums with a larger group – featuring some great arrangements from Russ Garcia! Titles include "Blues For Big Scotia", "Con Alma", "Cubano Chant", "OP", and "Little Pea's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

With Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. Titles include "Sittin & Rockin", "John Hardy's Wife", "In A Mellow Tone", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and "Take The A Train". LP, Vinyl record album

Less an interpretation of Porgy & Bess than an extrapolation of its themes – one that lets the Peterson trio recraft the music into their own! Given that the Porgy & Bess theme had been explored heavily by many other jazz albums of the late 50s – due to the release of the film at the time – Peterson clearly knows he's got to take a different approach here, and manages to dissect the tunes in really unique ways – bringing in gentleness where it wasn't before, and finding space for new music between notes that are already familiar. Of course, it helps a lot that he's got Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – as the album's almost a three-pronged melodic attack – with great versions of titles that include "Summertime", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "I Wants To Stay Here", "Oh Lawd I'm On My Way", "Bess You Is My Woman Now", and "Bess Oh Where's My Bess". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from Oscar Peterson – a vintage Verve session that was originally issued in a 10" LP format – complete with an ultra-cool cover from David Stone Martin! The group features Oscar with frequent partner Ray Brown on bass – plus drums from Alvin Stoller and guitar from Barney Kessel – the latter of whom plays in a way that's different than the guitar/piano pairing Peterson got with Herb Ellis. The set features two long tracks – both nice and open, with a loose style that really gets Oscar going – and titles include "The Astaire Blues" and "Stompin At The Savoy". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson pays tribute to a host of his famous jazz friends – performing tunes that were strongly associated with artists like Ben Webster, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, and others – all while working here in an equally friendly quartet that features Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Martin Drew on drums! Pass has a nice way of hitting the groove that echoes the earlier Herb Ellis sound with Peterson from years back – and the clearly recorded sound of the Pablo session definitely gets at the best tones of both players. Titles include "Stuffy", "Birk's Works", "Lover Man", "A Tisket A Tasket", "Now's The Time", and "Cottontail". CD

Strong work from the Peterson Trio's London House gig in Chicago in 1961 – material that offers some slightly longer than usual takes on the group's sound, especially on a few numbers that really let Oscar open up on the keys! The group here is the legendary combo with Ed Thigpen on drums and Ray Brown on bass – but on the album's long versions of "Sometimes I'm Happy", "In The Wee Small Hours" and "Chicago", it's Oscar's inventive work on the keys that really dominates the nearly 10 minute run of each track. Other shorter tunes include "Billy Boy", "Whisper Not", and "The Night We Called It A Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A key example of the popularity of the Oscar Peterson Trio in the mid 60s – an album of tracks that listeners wanted to hear done in the group's familiar style – that wonderful way of soulful inflection that Oscar had when he shifted up the lineup of the trio at the start of the 60s! There's a lot more bounce here than back when Peterson was working without drums – although the great Ed Thigpen is also a master of subtle energy on the kit – working with bassist Ray Brown to provide the best setting for the fluid touches that Oscar brings to the keys of the piano! Titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "D&E", and "Time & Again". LP, Vinyl record album

The West Side Story score – but handled here by the great Oscar Peterson Trio – in ways that really push the tunes past their Broadway roots! The approach is tight, soulful, and filled with strong lines from Peterson on piano – plus bass by Ray Brown and drums from Ed Thigpen – that classic trio from the early 60s that came together in different ways than Oscar's group of the 50s. The set features an especially nice long take on "Jet Song" – plus versions of "Something's Coming", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "Maria", and "I Feel Pretty". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson pays tribute to the late Nat King Cole – not only on piano, but also with a bit of vocals as well! Given how rarely Oscar sings on record, the album's a real treat – especially as his vocals capture the spirit of Cole surprisingly well – not exactly like Nat, but with the same mix of soul, swing, and class! Half the album features Peterson in trio formation – with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass – in a way that recreates the King Cole Trio sound. Other tracks feature fuller backings from Manny Albam – nice and jazzy, in the style that Nat used during the 50s at Capitol! Titles are all Cole favorites – and include "Little Girl", "Unforgettable", "What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry", "Easy Listening Blues", "Walkin My Baby Back Home", and "It's Only A Paper Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

Duo recordings from Paris – titles include "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues", "Tenderly", "Ellingtonia (Medley)", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Stella By Starlight", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Pleyel Bis", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet laidback take on Gershwin – handled with only piano from Peterson and guitar from Pass! LP, Vinyl record album

Trumpet Kings indeed! Featuring Clark Terry, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Faddis, and Harry Edison. LP, Vinyl record album

A sampling of Verve's hippest pianists of the early 50s – in a unique David Stone Martin cover! LP, Vinyl record album

Piano, guitar, and bass – all moving along at an almost effortless pace – and a perfect model of the fluid Oscar Peterson sound of the mid 50s! There's a lightly grooving, almost-singing quality to most of the tunes on the set – that ringing Peterson piano sound meeting up with the guitar of Herb Ellis and the warmer bass of Ray Brown – all moving perfectly together in an exploration of a number of familiar tunes. At times, some bluesier modes come into play – but never in a way that's too forced or hokey – and titles include "The Champ", "Easy Listenin' Blues", "Moonlight In Vermont", "Should I", and "When Lights Are Low". CD

One of Oscar Peterson's few albums with a larger group – featuring some great arrangements from Russ Garcia! Titles include "Blues For Big Scotia", "Con Alma", "Cubano Chant", "OP", and "Little Pea's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album