Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson – Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson (1959/2001/FLAC)

 

By 1957, hard bop was firmly established as the "jazz of now," while pianist Oscar Peterson and his ensemble with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis were making their own distinctive presence felt as a true working band playing standards in the swing tradition. Louis Armstrong was more recognizable to the general public as a singer instead of the pioneering trumpet player he was. But popularity contests being the trend, Armstrong's newer fans wanted to hear him entertain them, so in retrospect it was probably a good move to feature his vocalizing on these tracks with Peterson's band and guest drummer Louie Bellson sitting in. The standard form of Armstrong singing the lead lines, followed by playing his pithy and witty horn solos based on the secondary melody, provides the basis for the format on this charming but predictable recording. What happens frequently is that Armstrong and Peterson play lovely ad lib vocal/piano duets at the outset of many tunes. They are all songs you likely know, with few upbeat numbers or obscure choices. It is, however, the familiarity of songs like the midtempo "Let's Fall in Love," with Armstrong's gravelly scat singing, and his marvelous ability to riff off of the basic songs, that make these offerings endearing. A classic take of "Blues in the Night" is the showstopper, while choosing "Moon Song" is a good, off-the-beaten-path pick as the trumpeter plays two solo choruses, and he leads out on his horn for once during the slightly bouncy, basic blues "I Was Doing All Right." Some extremely slow tunes crop up on occasion, like "How Long Has This Been Going On?," an atypically downtempo take of "Let's Do It," and "You Go to My Head," featuring Peterson's crystalline piano. There are the dependable swingers "Just One of Those Things," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "Sweet Lorraine," with Peterson at his accompanying best. There's a ramped-up version of the usually downtrodden "Willow Weep for Me" and a duet between Armstrong and Ellis on the sad two-minute ditty "There's No You." All in all, it's difficult to critique or find any real fault with these sessions, though Peterson is subsumed by the presence of Armstrong, who, as Leonard Feather notes, really needs nobody's help. That this was their only collaboration speaks volumes to how interactive and communal the session really was, aside from the fairly precious music.

• Bass – Ray Brown
• Drums – Louis Bellson
• Guitar – Herb Ellis
• Piano – Oscar Peterson
• Vocals, Trumpet – Louis Armstrong

A1 That Old Feeling

A2 Let's Fall in Love

A3 I'll Never Be the Same

A4 Blues in the Night

A5 How Long Has This Been Going On

A6 I Was Doing All Right

B1 What's New

B2 Moon Song

B3 Just One of Those Things

B4 There's No You

B5 You Got to My Head

B6 Sweet Lorraine

Herb Ellis - The Early Years (4 CD, 2020/FLAC)

 

This four CD collection however represents the first phase of Herb Ellis's solo career when he acted as leader or co-leader through an era which is generally considered the great man's glory years. Featuring eight stunning and extraordinary albums released originally between the mid-1950s and mid 1960s, this compilation provides both a perfect starting point for newcomers and a welcome reminder of Herb Ellis's musical prowess and creative flow for everyone else. 

 

 

The Oscar Peterson Trio – Live At The Blue Note (The Complete Recordings - March 16-18, 1990) [4 CD, 2004/FLAC]

 In March of 1990, Oscar Peterson played a two-week engagement at the Blue Note in New York with a group billed as the Oscar Peterson Trio, even though it contained four players. Peterson was on piano, Ray Brown was on bass, Herb Ellis was on guitar and Bobby Durham was on drums. The billing was no doubt intended to capitalize on the fact that Peterson, Brown and Ellis had been one of the most popular jazz trios of the 1950s. The three had rarely played together between 1958 and this 1990 New York gig.

Herb Ellis And Freddie Green - Rhythm Willie (1975/FLAC)

Guitarist Herb Ellis is joined by rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, pianist Ross Tompkins, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jake Hanna for this lightly swinging but uneventful program which has been reissued on CD. Since Green as usual does not solo, his contribution is purely as a background player. Ellis, Tompkins and Brown are the lead voices on a variety of swing tunes; best are "It Had To Be You," "A Smooth One" and "When My Dream Boat Comes Home."