Consequently, it's mistaken to regard the years 1951-53 as the portrait of a fledgling artist. And the years 1949-1951 saw the prodigious talent being groomed and readied by Norman Granz for his break-out tour with Jazz at the Philharmonic and subsequent meteoric rise before a large and diverse American audience. (A popular internet jazz site reports that the 1951-52 composer songbooks issuing from these sessions incorporated drummer Ed Thigpen, who didn't join the group until 1958!) But Peterson had become a presence on the Canadian scene as early as 1940, when he won a talent contest eventually leading to his signing a recording contract with RCA Canada in 1945. What distinguishes Peterson from Tatum? And is OP truly one of "the greats"? Anyone seeking answers to these questionsand how can any serious follower of the music ignore either?needs to start with this revelatory if not essential Mosaic box set.įor many casual Peterson followers, the years preceding the pianist's association with Herb Ellis, who joined the group after the sessions contained in the present collection, are either lost in a mist or assumed too unproductive to count. In 1953, the year the publication inaugurated its Critics Poll, Peterson was again the runaway favorite with readers with the critics, on the other hand, he barely squeaked out a victory, and by 1955 the combative Canadian barely registered enough votes with the "experts" to land a place at the bottom of a list that had Tatum decisively ensconced on top. In 1950, less than a year following his New York debut, the Montreal phenom would win the Down Beat annual Readers Poll, outdistancing Dave Brubeck and Art Tatum. John McDonough's extended essay included with this handsomely packaged 7-disc set of nine, pre-guitarist Herb Ellis, Oscar Peterson Trio recording sessions, while remaining objective and informative in detailing the background of the recordings, offers up one major surprise: frequent and abrupt dismissals of Peterson's playing were commonplace among critics even at the beginning of his entry into American public consciousness. To the one camp, Peterson's playing represents a sort of gold standard and is therefore beyond criticism to the other side, his inarguable virtuosity and flawless technique reduce him to a glib pop phenomenon unworthy of serious criticism. How do you criticize pianist Oscar Peterson? The two primary meanings of such a question expose the divide among those who must confront his talentand, like it or not, no musician or supporter of the music can duck the issues raised by the most prolifically recorded pianist in jazz history.
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