Search - Oscar Peterson :: Dimensions: A Compendium of the Pablo Years

Exciting Music Making from One of the Great Jazz Pianists

Don Hoyt | Atlanta, GA USA | 03/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The recordings on these four disks were made over a long period--from November 18 1953 to November 14 1986, and they were made in recording studios, concert halls, and other live venues around the world. There's obviously a lot of variation in the recording quality, but the music is consistently wonderful. Probably the hardest part of putting this set together was deciding what NOT to put in. What did make it in provides a great survey of 30 years of classic jazz, with guest performances by the likes of Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Count Basie, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra led by Duke himself for a 1967 A Train. Although he's not represented on the recordings, sometimes when you hear Peterson you think you're hearing Art Tatum; it's hard to believe anybody can play the piano that fast and that good. Load this set into the CD changer, sit back with your favorite beverage, and you're in for an incomparable evening of music."