Acoustic Sounds

Oscar Peterson Trio With Milt Jackson

Very Tall

Music

Sound

Very Tall Oscar Peterson Trio With Milt Jackson

Label: Verve/Acoustic Sounds Series

Produced By: Jim Davis

Engineered By: Val Valentin

Lacquers Cut By: Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound

By: Michael Fremer

January 7th, 2024

Genre:

Jazz

Format:

Vinyl

Volatile Oscar Mind Melds With Mellow Milt For Fun Session

crowd pleasing 1962 release provides much needed 21st century stress release

Nat Hentoff's notes get directly to how this musical experiment might have easily gone awry: the unflappable, cerebral MJQ vibraphonist Milt Jackson meets Peterson's "abundant" style. Jackson never broke a sweat on stage, Peterson probably would have had he played the Arctic circle.

Yet Jackson and The Oscar Peterson Trio seem made for each other on this musically satisfying, sonically enjoyable set. I've been listening to the original pretty much since it was first released in 1962 so there's no speculation in that.

Of course the classic trio of Peterson, Ed Thigpen and Ray Brown always makes for a pleasurable listen. Adding Milt Jackson to the mix adds a cool governor to Peterson's dynamism.

The song selection includes the show tune "Wonderful Guy", the jazz classic, Nat Adderley's "Work Song", and two Milt Jackson originals, "Heartstrings" and the finale, "Reunion Blues."

The two stars work and play well with each other throughout. Only on the final tune, where both get to stretch out, does Peterson dominate as well he should. It's his record!

Hentoff sums it up well in his annotation: "This is the kind of session that did not intend to prove anything except that being yourself among compatible souls is great fun and can produce cheerfully uncomplicated jazz of a very tall order."

Packaging, presentation and pressing quality are up to the usual Verve/Acoustic Sounds series high standards. Enjoyable for all, but an especially good record to give to a friend interested in "getting into" jazz.

Music Specifications

Catalog No: B0037378-01 (originally V6-8429)

Pressing Plant: Quality Record Pressings

SPARS Code: AAA

Speed/RPM: 33 1/3

Weight: 180 grams

Size: 12"

Channels: Stereo

Source: original master tapes

Presentation: Single LP

Comments

  • 2024-01-07 07:21:45 PM

    Come on wrote:

    How about a comparison with the Speakers Corner KG reissue and the Mofi (which was best so far)?

    • 2024-01-08 12:38:00 AM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      Have to look and see if I have either of those....

      • 2024-01-08 12:51:49 AM

        Come on wrote:

        I roughly remember you quite some time ago spoke about those two in a video or wrote in Stereophile with the above mentioned result, that the tape of the Mofi must have been clearly better than the Speakers Corner’s.

    • 2024-01-08 12:50:16 AM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      I found the Speakers Corner...