If aliens came down to visit earth and asked me what "swing" was, I would play them some Oscar Peterson. I mean, nobody plays with the feel that he does...you can't possibly listen without moving or tapping your feet.Hello Herbie sort of flew in under the radar as far as Peterson's recordings go. He has such an enormous discography that of course some records are going to stand out more than others, and they can't all be great, right? Well, this is a GREAT record. It's also documents a very special reunion between Peterson and Herb Ellis, who had a well-known association (along with Ray Brown) up until 1958.
The rapport is still there in 1969. Peterson and Ellis are conversing like the old friends they are, with able support from the great Sam Jones on bass and Bob Durham on drums (who I will admit I'm not familiar with apart from this record, but man, is he a solid drummer!). The level of communication here is of the highest order. The soloing from Peterson and Ellis is nothing short of outstanding, but they are team players all the way. The group has a natural ability to build tunes like "Seven Come Eleven" from a simmering groove to a hard swing that's ready to boil over. This record swings like crazy.
The creative arrangements that typify Peterson's work are here too. "Day by Day" in particular is nicely remodeled. The melody of the song is broken up into rhythmic accents punctuated by agile runs from Peterson's nimble fingers, while Jones and Durham provide a unique approach to the bossa feel.
I'm not sure why this recording isn't better known...many Oscar Peterson fans may not even have heard of it. But Hello Herbie deserves to hold a higher position in the ranks of Oscar Peterson's great records. Take a listen for yourself and I think you'll agree.
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20 years ago tomorrow on June 15th, 1991 the famous Oscar Peterson trio, with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis, came to Toronto.
ReplyDeleteThey had disbanded in 1958 because of Herb Ellis’ alcoholism. OP and Ray Brown felt that no one could take Ellis’ place on the jazz guitar, so they replaced him with Ed Thigpen on drums. Ray Brown left for Los Angeles in 1966.
But in 1991 this definitive version of the trio, got together for a reunion tour.
Oscar said that this trio was “the most stimulating” and productive setting for public performances as well as in studio recordings.” The reason was the interaction between them worked like magic. They had an unusually high degree of emotional as well as musical understanding between them. It was a highly sophisticated improvisational interplay. Together they pushed to ever greater heights of jazz brilliance.
In this trio’s rare one-night performance in Toronto, they appeared at the Bermuda Onion in the classy Colonnade in a tony area of Bloor St.
I was there with my husband celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We came to the concert with the book in hand called “Oscar Peterson—The Will to Swing” by Gene Lees.
Mr Peterson autographed our book of his life story, with the inscription:
“Sincere Regards, Oscar Peterson 1991”
Then my husband opened the book to a page of photos of the early famous trio, and all three members of the first famous and definitive Oscar Peterson Trio each autographed the page beside a photo: first “Oscar Peterson”, then “Ray Brown”, and finally “Herb Ellis”.
That night was so extraordingary and memorable for my husband and me, that we wanted to augment the memorabilia of the autographs in the book.
So we bought the DVD, “Oscar Peterson: Music In The Key of Oscar”. This wonderful DVD walked us through the history of the career of Oscar Peterson. It therefore ties in perfectly with the book. You can watch marvellous videotaped interviews with Oscar Peterson himself, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Norman Granz, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Nat King Cole, and many more jazz greats.
Sometimes you get lucky. The DVD, “Music in the Key of Oscar”, just happens to have the regrouped first famous Oscar Peterson Trio recorded live at the Bermuda Onion in Toronto in 1991. Their mind-blowing performance there forms a big portion of the DVD.
Unfortunately, the Bermuda Onion suffered a fate all too familiar in Toronto: it closed.
Perhaps in keeping with the downer of thinking about all the Toronto jazz closures, my husband and I have decided to sell our Oscar Peterson trio rare collection of autographs on ebay.
We did see Oscar Peterson subsequently, in a wonderful concert in Toronto, after he had recovered from a stroke. His left hand playing was somewhat impaired, but his playing was still masterful.
But nothing will compare to that night 20 years ago tomorrow, when OP, Ray Brown and Herb Ellis did indeed show that they still had their special magic.
Elaine Handelman
The German MPS label was a safe haven for OP in the late sixties and early seventies. Some say these were his most creative years and he was given total freedom by the label. He crunched out many albums in those years. Being a German label this explains why these albums did not have the bigger exposure they deserved outside Europe.
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