Although I enjoy Jazz, I’m not familiar with Oscar Peterson. Since I don’t intend to remain that way could any FR fans of Oscar’s out there suggest his best one or two disks. I would be especially interested in any recordings with horns. (I love horns, trumpet, sax, trombone, clarinet, anything that makes sound when you blow into it)
go to Youtube. He had a great trio with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown.
He was intoxicating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=337hbXJD9vk
You might notice him humming/groaning during his play. He did this all the time.
Oscar Peterson was an absolutely brilliant piano player, one of the best ever, with phenomenal technique and amazing musicality. Sometimes he was criticized for being a tad “notey” = too many notes. For the most part, Oscar almost always played with smaller combos (standard piano trio) or quartets (most famous probably with Herb Ellis: guitar) So, it will be a definite minority of his albums that have horns. And in most of those cases, there might be one or two horn players vs. whole horn sections. But there are some recordings of his, evidently from the early 50’s, where he played with Billie Holiday orchestra, and he made some recordings with Ella Fitzgerald in 1957 (where OP is not listed as the bandleader and so might be harder to find)
One appears to stand out:
Ella Fitzgerald At JATP (jazz @ the philharmonic)
Roy Eldridge (tp) J.J. Johnson (tb) Sonny Stitt (as) Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Lester Young (ts) Oscar Peterson (p) Herb Ellis (g) Ray Brown (b) Connie Kay (d) Ella Fitzgerald (vo)
“Shrine Auditorium”, Los Angeles, CA, October 25, 1957
I would (in your position) Go to youtube.com and look up Oscar Peterson to get a sampling of his playing.
here is a discography http://www.jazzdisco.org/peterson/dis/
enjoy!
try:
(Samples of 1953 w/Ella, but note, smallish combo)
http://www.tvondvdshop.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=193&upc=80552006082&affnr=-1
(w/Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy & Clifford Brown, wow!)
http://www.tvondvdshop.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=193&upc=04228493952
w/Benny Carter....tvondvdshop has a bunch of OP but again, mostly with ONE horn max)
This is some mind blowing Oscar Pederson, that my friend and fellow freeper Perfect Stranger found a week or two ago, that we watched. Check it out. Incredible, he never stops the frenetic piano playing! He will be missed.