A number of years ago I did a survey of musicians as to what they thought the all time greatest duos, trios, quartets and quintets were. At the photo finish for trios was Oscar Peterson’s because as trumpeter Carl Saunders said, “nobody swung better”. Any more questions?
This four disc collection has Peterson (mostly) with his team of bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, and they tear up the joint on their trio albums from 1961-61. Two albums of almost the same title from the same year, The Trio and The Sound of The Trio, includes clever bass work by Brown on “Tricotism” with Peterson gives a strong wind off of Lake Michigan for “Chicago”. From the same fertile year, Peterson digs deep on the lyrical “I Remember Clifford” and “Autumn Leaves” for his Something Warm release and gives a winsome take of “Put On A Happy Face” on the album of the same name. The next year, the three chug along like a steam engine on a deeply shaded “Night Train” and “C Jam Blues” while a couple years later, the three look into the pop songbook and mix pieces like “People” and “Days of Wine and Roses” with a slick take of John Lewis’ “D & E”.
Most enjoyable is when Peterson’s team is the “ house band” for Verve, backing up a pair of tenor saxists. The first, from 1957 has the original Herb Ellis/Brown/Peterson team glowing with Stan Getz on “Pennies From Heaven” and a 10 minute medley that includes “How Long Has This Been Going On?’. 1959 has Ben Webster blowing into the studio for the fog to roll in on “The Touch Of Your Lips” and “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning”. The soundtrack of a living soul.