Oscar Peterson - Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (4-Disc Set)

Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Louis Bellson, Ray brown, Benny Carter, Martin Drew, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Roy Eldridge, Duke Ellington, Jon Faddis, Dizzy Gillespie, Stephane Grappelli, Coleman Hawkins, Louis Hayes, Johnny Hodges, Barney Kessel, Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, Joe Pass, Mickey Roker, Clark Terry, Toots Thieleman, Ed Thigpen, David Young, and more.

Oscar Peterson's recordings on the Pablo label span the years from the '50s to the '70s and have long needed this type of lavish anthology. Over the course of four discs, you get to hear five tunes by the classic trio matching the peerless pianist with guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown. But the best of that particular band – arguably Peterson's finest – resides largely on the Verve label, so the Pablo years find Peterson interacting with a number of stars with whom he shared studio or concert stage time on an occasional, sometimes casual basis. The supporting cast on the Pablo years is dazzling, and the results are rarely less than deeply satisfying. Peterson sounds delightfully restrained during a charming piano duet with Count Basie, deliciously witty with growling trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and nearly intimidated by the virtuosity of Stephane Grappelli, but then again, "Nuages" is the tune this box showcases, and the violinist had a few decades after Django's death to stake his claim to that number.

Half of the 46 tracks here are live, and live recordings always bring out the flashy entertainer in Peterson. Yet even for those critics like myself who find Peterson more focused and inspired in the studio, there are ecstatic rewards in the live offerings here. A 1967 concert with the Ellington band finds Peterson navigating a strangely compelling blues line through a show-stopping "Take the A Train" that succeeds in spite of obvious showboating. Another live bit of Ellingtonia that succeeds, a medley of Perdido and Caravan at dizzying speed, comes from a 1986 Los Angeles concert where Peterson's telepathic empathy with guitarist Joe Pass equals in sheer majesty his interaction of the '50s with Herb Ellis.

There are a handful of regrettable clinkers: a misguided vocal that sounds like Nat King Cole recorded at the ocean floor, a quizzical number on clavichord, surely not Peterson's ideal instrument (as he was quick to recognize), and an overripe orchestrated tribute to the late Princess Di that resembles in sap content Ellington's tribute to the Queen. These gaffes aside, this is a sterling, well-programmed set certain to please fans of our forever-young, and arguably, greatest living pianist. ~Norman Weinstein

Album: Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:13
Size: 169.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2003

[4:48] 1. That Old Black Magic
[5:00] 2. Tenderly
[3:22] 3. How High The Moon
[4:40] 4. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:40] 5. You Are Too Beautiful
[4:47] 6. Smedley
[5:08] 7. Someday My Prince Will Come
[6:03] 8. Daytrain
[3:33] 9. Moonglow
[4:36] 10. Sweet Georgia Brown
[6:23] 11. C Jam Blues
[6:37] 12. Wes' Tune
[8:42] 13. Okie Blues
[6:50] 14. You Can Depend On Me

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Album:Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:59
Size: 169.4 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2003

[8:40] 1. You Are My Sunshine
[6:58] 2. Caravan
[7:09] 3. Stella By Starlight
[4:43] 4. Little Jazz
[5:28] 5. Soft Winds
[6:30] 6. Mean To Me
[7:52] 7. Oh, Lady Be Good
[4:20] 8. On A Slow Boat To China
[4:26] 9. Summertime
[7:18] 10. Blues For Birks
[4:54] 11. How Long Has This Been Going On
[5:34] 12. Hogtown Blues

Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 1) (Disc 2)

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Album: Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 3)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:01
Size: 174.0 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2003

[ 5:22] 1. Blues Etude
[ 3:37] 2. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
[ 7:18] 3. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
[ 6:44] 4. Just In Time
[ 4:46] 5. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
[ 6:23] 6. Goodbye
[ 6:25] 7. Falling In Love With Love
[ 7:13] 8. Nigerian Marketplace
[ 6:28] 9. Sometimes I'm Happy
[13:14] 10. Perdido
[ 8:27] 11. Cool Walk

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Album: Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 4)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:47
Size: 166.6 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[ 5:27] 1. Take The 'a' Train
[12:57] 2. Ballad Medley 5400 North
[ 6:14] 3. Exactly Like You
[11:17] 4. Au Privave
[10:50] 5. If I Were A Bell
[ 8:05] 6. Nuages
[ 3:46] 7. Some Of These Days
[ 4:58] 8. Lady Di's Waltz
[ 9:09] 9. Stuffy

Dimensions: A Compendium Of The Pablo Years (Disc 3)(Disc 4)

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Ruby Braff - I Hear Music

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 2001
Time: 60:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 140,1 MB
Art: Front

(11:12) 1. I Hear Music
(13:44) 2. Medley Chicago/My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)
( 7:45) 3. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
( 8:42) 4. Wouldn't It Be Loverly?
( 8:37) 5. Yesterdays
( 6:48) 6. (I Would Do) Anything For You
( 4:07) 7. We're All Through

Ruby Braff has compiled an album of sheer pleasure in quintet work. His well shaped cornet sound, and the interplay of the instruments through each cut is a shining example of mastery of pacing and a sense of timing. Within each of the cuts is a conversation between the instruments where each one says their version of the melody in turn. Cut 2, a medley of “Chicago” and “My Kind of Town” also has hints of Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Other fascinating takes on classic tunes include “Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home,” “Wouldn’t it be Loverly” and “I Hear Music.”

Through.” Guest Soloist Daryl Sherman makes the song with a vocal that conveys the message that is laced through this beautiful piece. Braff says in a quote from the liner notes that the lyrics were written the way you hear them because the song had the feel of the final piece for a club band. The result is a lyrically simple, yet elegant piece of work... an album that is well worth th time, particularly for those who favor smooth cornet work.By AAJ Staff

Personnel: Cornet – Ruby Braff; Bass – John Beal; Drums – Tony Denicola; Guitar – Bucky Pizzarelli; Piano – Bill Charlap; Vocals – Daryl Sherman (tracks: 7)
Recorded July 28, 2000.

I Hear Music

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Harmonious Wail - Airborne

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:42
Size: 88.6 MB
Styles: Gypsy swing
Year: 1993
Art: Front

[2:57] 1. People Stuff
[3:30] 2. Why Don't You Do Right
[3:07] 3. After You've Gone
[4:04] 4. Airborne
[3:12] 5. Last Days Of Pompeii
[3:08] 6. Dat Dere
[4:07] 7. Posh De Wash
[2:17] 8. 5 Guys Named Moe
[2:26] 9. I Knew It Was Love
[3:13] 10. Melodie Du Crouton
[2:32] 11. Emmett's Tune
[4:03] 12. It's A Sin To Tell A Lie

Harmoniously Wail seamlessly blends an eclectic array of styles – Django Reinhardt inspired jazz, Eastern European gypsy swing, American jazz standards, and contemporary folk – to create their own distinctive sound.

“It’s Jethro Burns’ fault”, says Harmonious Wail founder and leader Sims Delaney-Potthoff of the band’s unique, enticing style of mandolin-heavy gypsy-jazz. For seven years Sims studied with Burns, the legendary jazz mandolinist, laying the foundation for Harmonious Wail’s acoustic string sound. He furthered his studies at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, honing his skills while immersing himself in the “gypsy” music of Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli (Sam Bush, Dan Hicks, Lester Young, David Grisman, and Louis Armstrong are also on his list of musical heroes). He founded Harmonious Wail in 1987.

Vocalist Maggie Delaney-Potthoff is a captivating performer. Equally at home scatting over a bebop tune, soaring on a solo, or blending with the Wail’s tight vocal harmonies, she delivers both powerhouse tunes and ballads with confidence and ease. Her sensual, sinuous movements (a product of her background in dance and theatre) and her use of a cardboard box as a “drum” (played with brushes) add to the charm she exudes onstage.

Supplying style and proficiency on guitar and lending vocal support with his marvelous harmonies, Tom Waselchuk contributes a contagious passion for music to Harmonious Wail. He also brings with him 23 years of professional musical experience…much of it spent in the company of mandolinist Sims Delaney-Potthoff. Their friendship and musical collaborations date back to 1979 when they “co-led” the Stone Oak Bluegrass Band. In 1986, the two founded the Full Count Jazz Band, a sextet that performed regularly in Madison’s premier jazz clubs as well as showcases such as the Isthmus Jazz Festival. And in 2001, Tom once again teams with Sims to lend their longtime camaraderie to Harmonious Wail.

John Mesoloras' powerful, rock steady and energetic stand-up bass playing lays the foundation for the Wail's groove. The Chicago native, who sites Ray Brown, Dave Holland, Charlie Haden, Edgar Meyer as musical influences, moved to Wisconsin in 1993. A versatile bassist who performs on both the electric and double bass, John has played in a variety of settings including the Madison Jazz Orchestra, The Beloit-Janesville Symphony, The Ray Rideout Quartet (Hard Bop Jazz), and Lisa G. and Montage (R&B Soul). John has also performed abroad, including the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands.

Airborne

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Norah Jones - Visions

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2024
Time: 45:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 104,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:15) 1. All This Time
(4:31) 2. Staring at the Wall
(3:25) 3. Paradise
(4:46) 4. Queen of the Sea
(2:42) 5. Visions
(3:28) 6. Running
(3:07) 7. I Just Wanna Dance
(4:18) 8. I’m Awake
(3:34) 9. Swept Up in the Night
(3:52) 10. On My Way
(4:14) 11. Alone With My Thoughts
(4:22) 12. That’s Life

Norah Jones named her eighth proper studio set Visions because many of the musical ideas occurred to her in the middle of the night, right when her consciousness was hazy: they weren't fully realized so much as an apparition. That sense of dreaminess carries through to the finished product but not in ways that are commonly associated with such a description.

Far from being an album constructed for twilight hours a dimly lit excursion into mood music Visions is clear and light, its textures vividly articulated and its rhythms mellow and fluid. It's music that feels alive, inhaling and exhaling with a gentle insistence; it's never rushed, never clipped. Despite the record's inherent relaxation, Visions never quite proceeds in a linear path. Chalk this up to Jones' choice of collaborator.

Working again with Leon Michels, a veteran of the seminal retro-soul outfit Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings who previously produced Norah's 2021 seasonal set I Dream of Christmas, Jones embraces the possibilities of psychedelic-tinged soul without succumbing to its trappings. Visions pulsates softly and sweetly, like a lava lamp slowly shifting colors in the background.

The hues aren't hyper-saturated; they're pleasing pastels radiating warmth. The emphasis on atmosphere isn't unusual for a Norah Jones album after all, she has worked with hip-hop collage artist Danger Mouse but Visions feels bright and open. It glides between modulated soul jams, languid ballads, and hopeful pop tunes, each enlivened by flair that's felt more than heard: horns start to sigh in the background, Jones' voice gets an off-kilter filter, guitars take an elliptical journey to a resolving chord.

The results aren't startling so much as they're fresh, avoiding musical and lyrical clichés. Witness "That's Life," a closing number that offers its inspirational advice not only with a knowing shrug but a song that rushes into a chorus and backs away on its bridge; the sentiment is familiar, but the execution isn't. It's a fitting farewell on a record that offers boundless imagination underneath its cool surface.by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Visions - Norah Jones | Album | AllMusic

Visions

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