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“If you make a mistake, don’t stop. Make it part of what you are playing.” I think of this quote by Oscar Peterson every time I hear one of his songs. He doesn’t so much play the piano as propel it. In the middle of a solo, every key is under his domain as he deftly dashes the ebony and ivory with contradictory urgency and ease. Even if Peterson made a mistake, you may never hear it.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Peterson took to the piano early, taking classical training in grade and high school, sometimes practicing 12 hours a day. Invited to the United States by the legendary Norman Granz, Peterson signed on with Verve Records and formed a trio modeled much like the one made famous by Nat King Cole. But this was no Route 66. Peterson intended on letting his piano do the singing. And with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, he started to develop a style that was light, fast, intricate and wholly infused with swing.
Recorded in 1961 “Very Tall” features this trio plus one more, Milt Jackson from The Modern Jazz Quartet. On the surface the addition didn’t look to be a good fit. Jackson was more coached in bebop and cool jazz where Peterson was more traditional. One hot, one cool, how would this arranged marriage by Verve producers work? How about fantastic! Although muscular and dynamic, Peterson knew how to pull back and welcome Jackson’s warm vibraphone solos.
My favorite track is “Work Song.” Jackson takes the lead, but Peterson soon leaps in with an effortless response, sounding like he is caught in a stream of eddies, rippling stones, multiple crosscurrents, all of it fluid. No way is he going to stop.
Dave
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