Search - Oscar Peterson :: This Is Oscar Peterson

The early works of a master pianist

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 06/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2-CD set gathers the early recordings of future jazz legend, pianist Oscar Peterson, including his very first sessions made back in 1945, when he was just 19 years old, and struggling along as a nightclub performer in his native Montreal. These tracks are sprightly and dynamic, even a little bit untamed and haphazard, as Peterson dips back into the Dixieland and boogie-woogie traditions that formed the early jazz piano repertoire. In part, it turns out, the jaunty approach was dictated by Peterson's label, the Canadian division of RCA Victor, which told him to record salable, poppy, Fats Waller-ish boogie woogie material, and save the wilder, more experimental stuff for his nightclub gigs. That's alright by me: even though Peterson wound up being one of the mellower post-Bop stylists, the bouncy, straightforward melodic appraoch heard here is pretty darn fun. I was familiar with this material from some late-'80s import vinyl reissue; according to the liner notes here, many of these European editions featured alternate takes that weren't on the original 1945-'50 RCA albums. In some cases, the original acetates have long since been missing in action, so a few tracks had to be recovered from discs or duplicate masters, and have slightly fuzzy sound quality. It's okay, though -- this is still fun stuff, and it's interesting to hear this lively, energetic young artist chafing at the bit and strutting his stuff."