Oscar Peterson - Plays the Harold Arlen Song Book

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Music reviews of Plays the Harold Arlen Song Book

Music Review: More Excellence from O.P.'s Songbook
Rating: 4 Stars

On the other hand, in later years,more and more critics have come to a genuine understanding and appreciation of the magnitude of O.P.'s portfolio--especially his work in the 50's, when he and his trios swung their way through the Great American Songbook, paying tribute to the wealth and genius of American song. This is the critical pool I find myself swimming in.

Harold Arlen? Not as familiar as Gershwin, Berlin, Cole Porter? Well, try these songs on for size: I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues, Come Rain or Come Shine, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Blues in the Night, Over the Rainbow, and on, and on.
So this tribute didn't come into being merely because Verve and O.P. had exhausted all the American masters. Harlen IS one of the masters. His music merits honor.

And this cd serves him well. Actually, this is a combination of two Trio recordings from the 50's--one from 1954, the other from 1959. The earlier recording features Oscar, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass. The renditions are a bit extended, allowing these three jazz legends to stretch a bit. Ellis gets in his licks, Brown is playful and steadying on bass, and Oscar, despite the various tempos, swings constantly.

The 1959 recording replaces Ellis with the great drummer Ed Thigpen. This trio, with both bass and drums, produces music that is less airy but never heavy, less free but never smothering. Curiously, these tracks are briefer than those on the earlier recording, with most coming in at less than two and-a-half minutes. Not much time for improvising; nevetheless all three players bring a freshness to these standards. We never feel that assembly-line syndrome.

As great an album as Night Train? No, but what is? These recordings have much to recommend them. With O.P. at the keyboard and at the helm, both pay delightful, breezy tribute to one of the true giants of American songwriting. The equation is simple: great jazz musicians and great American song equal a must for your collection of jazz and of the true jewels of the American songbook.

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