Oscar Peterson Trio - Oscar Peterson Trio Plus One

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:18
Size: 93,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:35)  1. Brotherhood Of Man
(3:00)  2. Jim
(6:54)  3. Blues For Smedley
(3:54)  4. Roundalay
(2:00)  5. Mumbles
(5:15)  6. Mack The Knife
(4:18)  7. They Didn't Believe Me
(3:28)  8. Squeaky's Blues
(5:08)  9. I Want A Little Girl
(2:42) 10. Incoherent Blues

Some guest soloists get overshadowed by Oscar Peterson's technical prowess, while others meet him halfway with fireworks of their own; trumpeter Clark Terry lands in the latter camp on this fine 1964 session. With drummer Ed Thigpen and bassist Ray Brown providing solid support, the two soloists come off as intimate friends over the course of the album's ten ballad and blues numbers. And while Peterson shows myriad moods, from Ellington's impressionism on slow cuts like "They Didn't Believe Me" to fleet, single-line madness on his own "Squeaky's Blues," Terry goes in for blues and the blowzy on originals like "Mumbles" and "Incoherent Blues"; the trumpeter even airs out some of his singularly rambling and wonderful scat singing in the process. Other highlights include the rarely covered ballad "Jim" and the even more obscure "Brotherhood of Man" from the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. A very engaging and enjoyable disc. ~ Stephen Cook https://www.allmusic.com/album/oscar-peterson-trio-one-mw0000615538

Personnel: Oscar Peterson – piano; Clark Terry – trumpet, flugelhorn, vocal; Ray Brown – double bass; Ed Thigpen – drums

Oscar Peterson Trio Plus One

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Smokey Robinson - Smokey

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:57
Size: 94,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:37)  1. Holly
(3:53)  2. Medley: Never My Love / Never Can Say Goodbye
(4:36)  3. A Silent Partner In A Three-Way Love Affair
(5:21)  4. Just My Soul Responding
(4:37)  5. Sweet Harmony
(4:40)  6. Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
(3:51)  7. Wanna Know My Mind
(4:21)  8. The Family Song
(4:57)  9. Baby Come Close

Smokey is a tentative step forward, carrying clear remnants of Smokey Robinson's latter-day music with the Miracles, which shouldn’t come as a great surprise considering that it’s anchored by “Sweet Harmony,” a tune he wrote about and for the Miracles but was persuaded by Motown A&R’s Suzanne de Passe to keep for himself. From there, Robinson built a full LP, using Willie Hutch as his co-producer and writing a clutch of songs with Marvin Tarplin, his co-author on several Miracles hits. Certainly, the rich, gorgeous harmonies of “Sweet Harmony” consciously evoke the Miracles but the group is heard elsewhere too, in the bright bounce of “Wanna Know My Mind” and in its covers of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and a medley of “Never My Love/Never Can Say Goodbye,” both bringing to mind Motown’s habit of recycling contemporary hits. These echoes of the past are comforting, particularly because they’re surrounded by modernity, thanks in part to Hutch’s lush, layered production but also Smokey’s willingness to embrace the shifting times, naturally favoring smooth soul to gritty funk, letting it escalate to an almost cinematic scale and, more importantly, not shying away from subjects he’d never tackle during the ‘60s whether it’s his family or the saga of a teenage runaway. It’s not a bold break into maturity on the level of What’s Going On or Music of My Mind but rather a transitional album, and a fascinating one at that, suggesting the path he would take going forward. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/smokey-mw0000320366

Smokey

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