Oscar Peterson - Exclusively For My Friends - Boxed Set [FLAC]

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Oscar Peterson: Exclusively For My Friends [Boxed Set]
Release Date: October 20, 1992 [Boxed Set]
Label: Verve/Island #5138302
4 Disc Set (36 tracks)

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Oscar Peterson has stated that he feels his MPS recordings are his finest. That is quite a statement considering the huge amount of records that the pianist has produced through the past 50 years. This four-CD set reissues the music from six of his MPS LPs: Action, Girl Talk, The Way I Really Play, My Favorite Instrument, Mellow Mood, and Travelin On. While some of the performances feature the 1963 trio he had with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, most of the music dates from 1967-1968 and matches Peterson with bassist Sam Jones and either Louis Hayes or Bobby Durham on drums. A special treat is Petersons first unaccompanied solo album, which fills up the final CD. Petersons many fans know what to expect in this set, while other listeners need to discover him to realize what all of the fuss was about. Quite simply, Oscar Peterson has long been one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known; this reissue offers plenty of proof.
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Note:
These are the track lists for the original 6 LP/CD releases.
The boxed set combines them onto 4 CDs - the numbers in [brackets] to the right are their boxed set locations.
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Oscar Peterson: Action (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 1)

Track Listing
01 At Long Last Love Cole Porter 04:57 [1-1]
02 Easy Walker Billy Taylor 09:42 [1-2]
03 Tin Tin Deo G Fuller/C Pozo 05:36 [1-3]
04 Ive Got A Crush On You GI Gershwin 05:16 [1-4]
05 A Foggy Day GI Gershwin 04:32 [1-5]
06 Like Someone In Love J Burke/J Van Heusen 11:18 [1-6]

AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
Oscar Peterson developed a friendship with Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, who proceeded to record the pianist in his first-rate studio beginning in the early 60s, even though Peterson was under an exclusive contract to Verve at the time. The solution to this problem was to wait until after it expired, and then a number of these sessions were released on various BASF or MPS LPs (and later on Pausa LP reissues). Action represents some of Petersons earliest work for Brunner-Schwer; these sessions were recorded before an invited audience in the studio, with the pianists working trio of Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen. The group seems extremely relaxed and inspired by the small group of loyal fans, with a brisk waltz treatment of At Long Last Love and an extended workout of fellow pianist Billy Taylors ballad Easy Walker starting things off with a flourish. Their approach to Tin Tin Deo is remarkably subtle, while Peterson is at his most lyrical during a pair of Gershwin selections, Ive Got a Crush on You and A Foggy Day. The influence of Art Tatum is apparent with Petersons darting runs in Like Someone in Love.
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Oscar Peterson: Girl Talk (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 2)

Track Listing
01 On A Clear Day Burton Lane/Alan Lerner 04:26 [1-7]
02 Im In The Mood For Love Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields 17:22 [1-8]
03 Girl Talk Neal Hefti/Bobby Troup 05:40 [1-9]
04 I Concentrate On You/Moon River C Porter|H Mancini/J Mercer 06:30 [2-2]
05 Robbins Nest I Jacquet/C Thompson 06:22 [2-1]

AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
One of a number of memorable albums recorded by Oscar Peterson for MPS during the mid-60s, Girl Talk was compiled from several live studio sessions taped between 1964 and 1966, with bassist Sam Jones and either Bobby Durham or Louis Hayes on drums. Petersons romping right hand helps this normally bland show tune. The pianists imaginative unaccompanied introduction to Im in the Mood for Love adds a new dimension to this old chestnut, with the rhythm section making a belated entrance; it is rather unusual to hear the trio play on just one song for 17 minutes. The title track, an overlooked gem jointly written by Bobby Troup and Neal Hefti, finds the leader in a bluesy mood. The relaxed but jaunty treatment of Robbins Nest follows a powerful medley of I Concentrate on You and Moon River to wrap up this highly recommended session.
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Oscar Peterson: The Way I Really Play (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 3)

Track Listing
01 Waltzing Is Hip Ray Brown 06:07 [2-3a]
02 Satin Doll Duke Ellington 10:02 [2-3b]
03 Love Is Here To Stay George Gershwin 04:51 [2-4]
04 Sandys Blues Oscar Peterson 09:31 [2-5]
05 Alice In Wonderland Sammy Fain 04:45 [2-6]
06 Noreens Nocturne Oscar Peterson 05:17 [2-7]

AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
The third volume of Oscar Petersons Exclusively for My Friends series, all recorded with an invited audience in the warm studio of producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, features live trio sessions with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Bobby Durham. The program opens with an unusual medley of Ray Browns Waltzing Is Hip (played with gusto) and a gently swinging Satin Doll. The influence of Art Tatum is apparent during his intricate runs within Love Is Here to Stay, while the multifaceted original Sandys Blues (dedicated to his wife) combines a dark mood with a swinging setting. The lighthearted waltzing treatment of Alice in Wonderland is pure joy, while another original, Noreens Nocturne, is simply a showstopper.
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Oscar Peterson: My Favorite Instrument (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 4)

Track Listing
01 Someone To Watch Over Me GI Gershwin 04:18 [4-1]
02 Perdido E Drake/HJ Lengsfelder/J Tizol 06:17 [4-2]
03 Body And Soul F Eyton/J Green/E Heyman/R Sour 04:36 [4-3]
04 Who Can I Turn To Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley 05:02 [4-4]
05 Bye Bye Blackbird Mort Dixon / Ray Henderson 04:56 [4-5]
06 I Should Care S Cahn/A Stordahl/P Weston 04:48 [4-6]
07 Lulus Back In Town A Dubin/H Warren 02:10 [4-7]
08 Little Girl Blue TB Harms/L Hart/R Rodgers 06:07 [4-8]
09 Take The A Train Billy Strayhorn 02:39 [4-9]

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Oscar Peterson recorded a remarkable amount of albums during his career but, surprisingly, this was his first full record of unaccompanied piano solos. Some observers consider his MPS recordings to be his best (quite a few are collected in the four-CD reissue Exclusively for My Friends, including this one). The solo album features Peterson (freed from the constraints of his trio) stretching out on nine familiar standards and really tearing into a few of them, including Perdido, Bye Bye Blackbird, Lulus Back in Town, while giving Little Girl Blue a beautiful and lyrical treatment. A prelude to his outstanding Pablo recordings, My Favorite Instrument is one of Petersons top albums of the 1960s.
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Oscar Peterson: Mellow Mood (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 5)

Track Listing
01 In a Mellow Tone D Ellington / M Gabler 06:07 [2-8]
02 Nicas Dream H Silver 07:56 [2-9]
03 Green Dolphin Street B Kaper/N Washington 06:27 [3-1]
04 Summertime GI Gershwin/D Heyward 05:30 [3-2]
05 Sometimes Im Happy I Caesar/C Grey/V Youmans 05:12 [3-3]
06 Who Can I Turn To L Bricusse/A Newley 06:26 [3-4]

AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
The fifth volume of Oscar Petersons Exclusively for My Friends series is another lively trio affair with Sam Jones and Bobby Durham, though the album title Mellow Mood is a bit deceptive. In a Mellow Tone plunges in full force with a bluesy performance, with the audience responding to Petersons opening solo as Durham switches from brushes to sticks. Petersons amusing detour into Mercer Ellingtons Things Aint What They Used to Be and Jones driving bass add to its appeal. His arrangement of Horace Silvers Nicas Dream begins quietly before he slowly turns on the turbochargers in an inspired performance. Gone is the overly dramatic introduction to On Green Dolphin Street heard during the earlier 1961 sessions at the London House; this interpretation is far more compelling as it doesnt seek to overwhelm the listener with the pianists technique. The snappy take of Summertime is infused with a blues feeling in a brisk setting, while Who Can I Turn To evokes the memory of Art Tatum, though this composition was obviously never recorded by Oscars good friend. Peterson fires up the tempo as Jones and Durham join him.
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Oscar Peterson: Travelin On (Exclusively For My Friends, Vol. 6)

Track Listing
01 Travelin On Traditional 02:35 [3-5]
02 Emily J Mandel/J Mercer 10:27 [3-6]
03 Quiet Night Of Quiet Stars A Jobim/G Lees/V Moraes 07:31 [3-7]
04 Sax No End Francis Boland 06:06 [3-8]
05 When Lights Are Low B Carter/S Williams 11:02 [3-9]

AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
This is yet another memorable concert by the Oscar Peterson Trio recorded in Hans Georg Brunner-Schwers excellent studio. With bassist Sam Jones and drummer Bobby Durham, Peterson tears into the old gospel favorite Travelin On with a passion second to none. Following it is a beautiful treatment of Johnny Mandels timeless ballad Emily, which runs for over ten minutes but never loses its impact. Durham sets the pace with his soft percussion to set up Antonio Carlos Jobims Corcovado (later known as Quiet Nights), though Peterson devours the song whole with a breathtaking display of his formidable technique. Francy Bolands Sax No End was a relatively new composition, having been recorded for the first time just the previous year by the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. But one can almost hear a larger ensemble by listening to Petersons virtuoso interpretation in an uptempo setting, assisted by Jones agile bass and Durhams steady percussion. Peterson cools off his audience with an extended exploration of Benny Carters When Lights Are Low, though his fresh approach makes it seem like a brand new composition. Like other releases in Oscar Petersons Exclusively for My Friends series, Travelin On is warmly recommended.
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