Customer Reviews

Montreux 77

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I got this on vinyl when it first came out and was blown away. Elderige gets into a deep groove tbat you don't often hear on a recording. Classic stuff. With Oscar Peterson on piano, the very hip, very driving Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Bobby Durham on drums (that is, the Peterson trio of the time plus Eldridge).

This is the first Jazz CD I has bought. And I always listen it with pleasure. When I hear soloes roll-call of Roy, Oscar Peterson and its quartette sidemen, I think that alive spirit of jazz itself dawn on them in this wink. Simply great!

If you like Oscar Peterson, Bobby Durham and Neils Pedersen...think of Eldridge as a bonus. This is a great live album. Peterson claims that this was one of his best jamming sessions ever! BUY IT! Recording is pretty good on my minimalist high quality stereo.

I read a biography in the all music guide that says Roy was "combative" and "risk taking." That he was and this recording only three years before a stroke silenced his horn is a prime example of it. The amazing thing is that after more than 40 years of recording he was not one bit less daring or combative than he had always been. The beauty of jazz is when you can here something of the personality and being of the player in his or her music. You can here. You can almost see the short man plant his feet, bring out his weapon and start swinging. The other musicians especially Oscar Peterson and Nils Henning Orstead Petersen are great too. You could actually consider this a recording of the Oscar Peterson Trio with the added bonus of Roy. That misses the point however. To listen to a man in the twilight of his career (he was 66 years old here) whose skills have perhaps slipped a tad, with so much energy and plain moxie is a joy. It gives one hope and a role model for one's own future.