Search - Various Artists :: The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks

Distinctively Peterson . . . Only A Bit Mellower, But Still

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* | CA USA | 02/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Jazz musicians normally choose tunes whose melodic and harmonic implications offer them the fullest opportunity to express their art and define their style: very often, the process will take them a long way from the composer's intention and mood. But here Peterson and his confrères are primarily concerned with the composers' art, and not their own. Not for nothing are the albums known as "the songbook series," the accent is on the American popular song at its best." ~ Richard Palmer ~



For those who are familiar with Oscar Peterson Songbook series, there is nothing new to this two-CD-set, "The Song Is You: Best of the Verve Songbooks." However, what makes this set worthy to any Peterson aficionado is that it consists of the best of the best in the Songbook series produced by Norman Granz under Verve Records. The thirty-two most outstanding tracks were selected from twenty different albums that he recorded between 1952 and 1959 representing the timeless melodies of the most brilliant composers of all-time: George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen and Vincent Youmans.



In these recordings, the genius of jazz piano is competently supported by Ray Brown (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums), Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis (guitar).



The late Mr. Peterson once said that "he never tried to sound like a trumpet or a clarinet. He was taught to respect the piano for what it was. And it spoke with a certain voice. And that was what he was determined to bring forward." That is especially true with his superb renditions of all the tunes from this impressive set, which highlights "Cheek To Cheek," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Tea For Two," "Without A Song" and "The Song Is You" on Disc One, and "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Come Rain Or Come Shine," "A Foggy Day," "Serenade In Blue" and "The Song Is Ended" on Disc Two. There are two versions of "Blue Moon" -- the first version on Disc One was taken from "Plays Richard Rodgers" recorded in December of 1953, and the other version on Disc Two was taken from "The Richard Rodgers Songbook" recorded in 1959. Both recordings feature Brown and Ellis.



Richard Palmer, who in 1996 recently completed a collaboration with Peterson on the pianist's then-forthcoming autobiography, A Jazz Odyssey: My Life in Jazz (Bayou Jazz Lives S.), has written a very informative Liner Notes stating that if "they do not present Peterson the jazz pianist at his most ambitious, majestic, or definitive, you cannot understand Peterson the accompanist, Peterson the musical brain, or Peterson the mature virtuoso without a proper recognition of what these sessions did to and for him."



This was what Brown had to say about Peterson's beautiful arrangements on these recordings shortly after their fifteen-year partnership came to an end, and I quote: "We worked hard at it every day, every night. And if you want to be good playing jazz, you have to work at it all the time. We did a variety of things, and Oscar wrote some hard music, but he didn't write it down. We had to memorize all of it."



This set is a welcome addition to your Peterson collection. I graciously recommend it. It's a great listen!"