Customer Reviews

Montreux '77

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Oscar Peterson is one of the few monster speed players who can stay musical. This CD is an absolute essential for bassists esspecially. Neils Henning Orsted-Pederson is one of the first real upright burners, his lines are so fast an clean. This juxaposed to the late great Ray Browns beautifull melodies and tasty chops is a course in Everything you need to know to play upright. Rays impecible time keeps this cd moving along, leaving no desire for a drummer.Although all of them overplay and show off past the point of musicality, with three of the most advanced and inovative musicians in thier fields, this cd is a must have.

Apart from Art Tatum who is one of two pianists who have influenced the way Oscar plays, his dexterity is like no one else's! This LIVE recording is superb. The sounds of Ray and Niels are like conversation pieces, MAN!!! Those talking basses! The fingers of Niel's move so fast on those strings while Ray provides the steady rhythm which keeps the music together. Who says we need a drummer?

Got one of these for myself and one for a 20 year old jazz aficianado...great music and there's not a lot to add to that. If you like jazz piano, and if you love bassists, get it!

One of many Pablo albums taken from the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival, this outing teams together pianist Oscar Peterson, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Bobby Durham with tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and trumpeters Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie. The talented (and very competitive) players really dig into the opening uptempo blues ("Ali and Frazier") and they continue cooking on "If I Were a Bell," "Bye Bye Blues" (which has been added to the CD reissue), "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" and "Just in Time."

As often happens in this type of situation, the musicians mutually inspire each other; this is one of Dizzy Gillespie's better sessions of the 1970s. There are no losers during these battles.


Tracks

Ali and Frazier
If I Were a Bell
Things Ain't What They Used to Be
Just in Time

Album Credits:

Phil Carroll Art Direction, Design
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Sax (Tenor)
Bobby Durham Drums
Dizzy Gillespie Trumpet
Norman Granz Producer, Liner Notes
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Bass
Oscar Peterson Piano, Performer
Clark Terry Trumpet


Recorded on the Pablo Lable July 14,1977 and is catalog number 2038-208

Review:

In his 40 years of staging jam sessions, dating from before his first Jazz At The Philharmonic concerts, Norman Granz created more than a few masterpieces of the genre. This was one of them, an inspired combination of the Oscar Peterson Trio with two trumpeters and a tenor saxophonist. But not just any three horn players; Granz chose Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.

It is beside the point just what or who set off the incendiary spark that caused the blues "Ali and Frazier" to ignite. The happy fact is that it contains some of the most spectacularly volatile playing ever recorded by any of the participants. The pieces that follow are in the same league.

With Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Bobby Durham.

Not just another Oscar Peterson album (nothing wrong with that anyway!), this also features Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie on Trumpets and Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis on Tenor sax, as well as NHOP on bass and Bobby Durham on drums.

The first track starts at a ferocious pace and never lets up. The story about the title of this first track (Ali and Frazier) is told in the sleeve notes. Count Basie was sitting in the musicians room watching the concert on a TV monitor and noticed how serious the musicians were (you'd have to be serious the speed they are playing the piece at) and said:
"....those cats aren't joking, they know what's coming up". At the end of the first number he turned to Norman Granz and said "Just like Ali and Frazier".

Track 3 is a steady rolling version of "Things Ain't What They Used To" which if the tempo is way down on the first number reaches some fantastic crescendo's - noteably Peterson's rolling tremelo at the end of his solo. The crowd are roaring at the end of this number.

The album features some of the Giants of Jazz and is well worth getting.