Oscar Pettiford was one of the handful of bassists that unbridled the bass from the strict feel of swing to the more fervent flexibility of bebop. He made his name with the likes of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, just for starters. He’s not as well known because he moved to Europe in 1958, so this release by Germany-based Sonorama Records shows what we were missing on this side of the Atlantic.
His December ’58 Hamburg session has him with top flight Europeans Hans Koller/ts-cl, Dusko Goykovich/tp, Attila Zoller/g, Michel Hausser/vib, Roger Guerin/tp and Armin Rusch/p. The team sounds hip and inspired with the muted trumpet on the gospel-inflected “Moanin’” while Koller’s clarinet styles well on “After You’ve Gone” and “Minor Meeting.” Pettiford himself gives a textbook demonstration on bebopping bass during “Autumn Leaves” while blending in a lively manner with Zoller during a clever read of “Tune Up” and bearing down on “Are You Real?”. The team swings with delight on “How About You?” and “Happy Afternoon” with Koller’s tenor rich and muscular. This is timeless music that is a balm for the ears.