Classics French
2002
Chronological 1949-1950
About This Album
This second installment in the Classics Oscar Peterson chronology opens with eight sides recorded in Montreal for the Victor label in March and November of 1949. After a Babs Gonzales-inspired version of "Oop-Bop Sh-Bam" (a rare example of Oscar Peterson the vocalist), the trio takes off at Bud Powell velocity on "Sweet Georgia Brown." Although the author of the liner notes tried to impose stylistic delineations by stating that Peterson was "firmly rooted in the swing tradition" but "never played bebop," the truth of the matter is that Oscar Peterson came up in the middle of the 20th century at a time when music critics were struggling to invent categorical definitions to match a music that was evolving at a rate slightly faster than the speed of sound. If Peterson must be placed somewhere in the early modern jazz schematic, it should be among Erroll Garner, Nat King Cole, Al Haig, and Bud Powell. To say that Peterson "never played bebop" is misleading, preposterous, pointless, inane, and also factually incorrect. Bop logic erupts consistently throughout most of the performances heard here. How could anyone deny the bop content and indeed almost frightening dexterity demonstrated in Peterson's lightning-quick execution of his original composition "Nameless"? Contemplate instead the evolution of Peterson's instrumentation over the space of 14 months.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 and 19)

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