Search - Oscar Peterson :: Soul Espanol

Bossa nova + Oscar: good. Packaging and price: awful

songlife | Dayton, OH | 05/09/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The music is fine, as always from Oscar, but the packaging is poorly conceived. The CD comes in a mini-replica of the album (large, no jewel case). I hate these things because they're not replaceable; one little mishap and it's stained for life. And they don't fit into standard CD storage slots either, you have to find a special place to put these things. It's kind of like most box sets: they look nice, but they never fit any place conveniently. Also, the liner notes on the back cover are photocopied from the original album, shrunken down to tiny, almost unreadable size. Even worse, all pertinent info about this re-release (what little they chose to provide) is on a small piece of paper which is not attached to the CD. So if you don't keep the CD in a plastic slipcase, you'll lose the paper with the production info, and there are no liner notes on the inside of the CD (like there are on the Japanese releases of this type.) Whoever is responsible for this package design did an awful job of it. Even more insulting, the retail price is far too high. There is no booklet, jewel case, or newly written liner notes, yet they charge a higher price than normal. P>The music is good though. Bossa nova tunes done in jazz style with light percussion. The title is misleading because the tunes are neither soul nor Spanish, they're Brazilian. Oscar wrote a couple tunes, and like the album itself, they are fine, short, and unexceptional. What IS exceptional, though, is Oscar's playing. The man is a superhuman piano player; a virtuoso. His flying fingers and tremendous creativity put jolts of energy into whatever he plays. Unfortunately, the original engineer placed him at far left in the mix, an awkward and irritating place to put the leader and star of a session. I noticed more than a few times that the percussion from the right channel was as loud or louder than Oscar in the left; a poor mix. The new 24 bit/96 khz mastering did not impress me either. It's good to have this album in the best-ever sound quality, but the original production is so dated and four-trackish that you probably won't notice it. So, if you are a bossa nova maniac like me who buys everything related to that genre regardless of whether or not I can afford it, then go for it, you won't be disappointed, but probably not exceptionally impressed either. If your wallet is tight though, skip this overpriced, too-short CD. I am begging the record companies: 24/96 sound is great, but PLEASE don't make such a big deal out of it, inflating prices and making awkward, cheaply made packages like this one. Is there really a great demand for CD's to look like mini-albums? I think not!"

Great CD

Edmundo | Edinburg, TX United States | 12/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As far as other reviews.....who cares about packaging! Big deal it comes in a slit case, you're not going to listen to it. I'm a huge oscar peterson fan, and to see something like this come out from him is simply amazing. It's like finding a heavy metal cd played by garth brooks. Oscar Peterson shows his true talent by being able to completely change his style and incorporate his jazz skillz into some beautiful latin beats. I bought this as a gift, and have regreted not keeping it for myself. If you're looking for just jazz, pick another of oscar's cds. However, if you're looking for brazilian, latin beats with jazz piano influence, then this is your purchase."

5 star music - imperfect recording (mixing)

Stefan C. Mazur | Santa Barbara, CA | 04/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a standout "brazilian wave" recording - by far the best in my book. It seems almost every musician in that era had to jump on the samba bandwagon resulting in never ending releases of recordings that all sound alike. Even with Getz, the master, one does not know where one song ends and the next begins at times. Here, Oscar peterson accomplished the near impossible - e.g. take well known compositions that were played and recorded to death even then (and still today), and make them sound unique, fresh and new. He succeeded beautifully and not one song on this album is boring. What makes it possible is the subtle, never intruding, ultra sophisticated piano style of Peterson. A true artist. Few musicians have that rare skill, Miles had it, Ravi has it, Richter in the classical dept had it. Where others play notes, they play music. Much credit needs to also go to the performance of Sam Jones throughout this album. His bass lines are simply awesome and provide the fabric for the piano to take the listener to pure excitement. One can just listen to the bass thats how good it is. A wonderful album.

On a less positive note, the recording does not match the sophistication of the players, particularly the individual channels are too crowded, everything happens at the far left and right, but nothing in the middle. The mixing engineer probably had the sliding controls stuck at extreme left and extreme right, while he was out to lunch.

Other than that, this is wonderful music and very different from the rest of the samba crowd. Highly enjoyable and highly recommended. Peterson at his best."