Oscar was always about blistering, overwhelming technique. In this album, it is about beauty, humanity and courage.
Mack Avenue MAC 1212
Oscar Peterson (piano); Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass); Lorne Lofsky (guitar); Martin Drew (drums)
- There Will Never Be Another You / 2. The Gentle Waltz / 3. Kelly’s Blues / 4. Love Ballade / 5. City Lights / 6. You Look Good To Me / 7. Samba Petite / 8. Satin Doll / 9. Nighttime
I have always admired Oscar Peterson since seeing him in the dank days of the 1950s when the Musician’s Union of the UK ensured that American musicians were denied entry to this country. Oscar Peterson, an exception, was allowed through because he was a Canadian. On a magic evening, he played at Belle Vue in Manchester accompanied by Tony Kinsey and Sammy Stokes on bass. Oscar’s exuberant technique impressed me. He played ‘Tenderly’ as he had at the famous Carnegie Hall Concert of 1950. He built the piece slowly chorus by chorus to a mighty crescendo. Seeing a fabled jazz musician when we had been deprived for so long was thrilling,
1994 a different time, a different Oscar. This was his return to playing after an absence of just over a year due to a stroke that affected the pianist’s left hand. Peterson, one of the most accomplished pianists, has often been criticised for his technical achievements. Here, it is interesting to consider the change between post-stroke Peterson and the mighty virtuoso of the earlier years. Most listeners would notice very little difference. The ability to play counterpoint using the left hand is diminished. The playing of a piece like “Satin Doll” is undeniably less powerful than it was before the stroke. He builds to a climax, as before, but the power is not there in the same way. Peterson’s daughter Celine makes the point that comments on her father’s post-stroke playing are “rooted in disappointment and sadness because he was not the same as he once was. But isn’t that true for all of us as we get older?”
Peterson, who enjoyed a thirteen-year career after the stroke said in an interview, “At my age, I don’t expect it to come back to full capacity. You know, my left hand should be six feet under right now. Actually, when I play, I ignore the fact that I’ve had a stroke. I do what I have to do with my left hand. What I can do with it is limited, but I still call upon it to play various things and, thank God, it does.”
This was the fourth concert that he played fourteen months after the stroke. Peterson had refused to retire. He composed more. Five of the compositions in the album were written by Peterson. Martin Drew followed many fine drummers into the Oscar Peterson group. Others who occupied the percussionist role include Ed Thigpen, Louie Bellson, and Louis Hayes. Drew is not a spectacular drummer but has a fine technique and the ability to swing. From 1974 he toured the world with Peterson as well as appearing frequently with Ronnie Scott at the latter’s London club.
Canadian Lorne Lofsky said in an interview about his work with Peterson. “It’s important to stay out of the way. On medium and up-tempo tunes, some of the comping consisted of short rhythmic phrases and simple harmonised background melodies, riffs. Ballads were more challenging. I had to keep the radar on and listen for the spaces. Listening and reacting accordingly was the most important thing. Play simply with a strong melodic sense.”
When Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen took over the job with Peterson, his predecessor Ray Brown observed that the newcomer was the only bassist he could think of who would be quick enough to keep up with Peterson. Pedersen, his experience is impeccable, He has played with most of the leading figures in jazz. His speed and ability to change styles, his voluminous sound, his timing and his harmonic sense are important to the quartet. His sensitivity is shown in his composition “Samba Petite”. Bass solos are often an opportunity for an audience to switch off, not with NHOP. There is the woody beauty of his sound often approaching the tonality of a guitar. The gentle melody of NHOP’s playing shows an aspect that is not often heard.
The concert opens with Martin Drew setting the rhythm as he is joined by Lorne Lofsky and Niels Henning Oersted Pederson before Oscar makes a triumphant entrance. It is soon obvious that Lofsky fits well into the group. Soon the arpeggios ring out as Oscar accompanies Martin Drew.
“The Gentle Waltz” starts simply before moving into complexity and beauty. It soon becomes obvious why Lorne Lofsky is so highly rated and why he was included in the group. His playing is tasteful, passionate and precise. The NHOP solo is lyrical and brings out the fluidity of his playing. There is the realisation that there is more of a group dynamic with solo space distributed more evenly than in the past.
“Kelly’s Blues”, dedicated to Oscar’s wife, the producer of the album, is familiar Oscar territory: swinging blues piling on the changes. The last track is Oscar’s “Nighttime”. It is an intriguing composition that is probably the best representation of post-stroke Oscar: lyrical, gently rhythmical, full of righthand long phrases lovingly spun out.
Oscar was always about blistering, overwhelming technique. In this album, it is about beauty, humanity and courage.
