Verve – MGV-8290Rec. Dates : February 27 & 28, 1958Stream this Album Bass : Ray BrownDrums : Osie JohnsonFlute : Jerome RichardsonGuitar : Herb EllisOrgan : Oscar PetersonPiano : Oscar Peterson Billboard : 02/09/1959 Ray Brown, one of the Oscar Peterson Trio, one of the top bassists on today’s jazz scene, is the featured soloist on this attractive new jazz set. It…
Norgran – MGN 1054Rec. Date : August 4, 1952Stream this Album (YT only) Tenor Sax : Lester YoungPiano : Oscar PetersonBass : Ray BrownDrums : J.C. HeardGuitar : Barney Kessel Billboard : 05/05/1956Score of 72 Another re-issue on 12-inch $3.98 vinyl of two complete previously listed 10-inch LPs. The President, of course, is tenor saxman Lester Young, featured here in some of…
Norgran – MGN 1043Rec. Date : November 1, 1955Stream this Album Tenor Sax : Lester YoungTrumpet : Harry EdisonBass : Ray BrownDrums : Buddy RichGuitar : Herb EllisPiano : Oscar Peterson Billboard : 09/29/1956Score of 72 Lester (Pres) Young is less than a ghost of his once great self in this spotty set. Poor tone and feeble invention will scare off all…
Verve – MGV-8206Rec. Dates : March 7, 1957, March 12, 1957Stream this Album Violin : Stuff SmithBass : Ray BrownDrums : Alvin StollerGuitar : Barney KesselPiano : Oscar Peterson A nice article about Stuff Smith’s violin, “Big Red,” from the June 2018 issue of Strings Magazine. Billboard : 08/05/1957Score of 70 An appealing slice of the jazz violin work that Smith has long been…
Verve – MGV-8024Rec. Date : August 8, 1956Stream this Album Piano : Oscar PetersonBass : Ray BrownGuitar : Herb Ellis Billboard : 07/08/1957Score of 81 One of the best Peterson sets in a long while, with the buoyant pianist framed by Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar in “concert.” A loose, relaxed feeling pervades, with subtle ensemble changes giving way to…
Verve – MG V-4003Rec. Date : August 16, 1956Stream this Album Vocals : Ella Fitzgerald, Louis ArmstrongTrumpet : Louis ArmstrongBass : Ray BrownDrums : Buddy RichGuitar : Herb EllisPiano : Oscar Peterson Cashbox : 11/03/1956 This package has already made a strong appearance on the charts. Little wonder. Two sturdy entertainers are coupled in some rare moments of beautiful jazz…
Clef – MG C-708Rec. Date : December 27, 1955Stream this Album Piano : Oscar PetersonBass : Ray BrownDrums : Buddy RichGuitar : Herb Ellis Billboard : 05/19/1956Score of 80 Peterson salutes Basie, the composer, pianist and bandsman by building a program on numbers long associated with the band (e.g., Lester Leaps In and Easy Does It). Peterson even adopts the “Count’s” sparse piano styling…
Norgran – MGN 1016Rec. Dates : December 6 & 7, 1954Stream this Album Clarinet : Buddy DeFrancoPiano : Oscar PetersonBass : Ray BrownCello : George Neikrug, Kurt ReherDrums : Bobby WhiteFrench Horn : Dick PerissiGuitar : Herb EllisViola : Virginia Matewski, Louis KievmanViolin : Dan Lube, Saul Grant, David Frisina, Henry Hill, Eudice Shapiro, Mischa Russell, Ralph Schaeffer, Sam Caplan, Rickey Marino, Marshall SossonTrombone : Nick DiMaio, Murray McEachern, Dick Noel, Harry BettsWoodwinds : Marty Berman, Jack Dumont, Herman Gunkler, Jules Jacobs Billboard…
Clef – MG C-641Rec. Date : October 29, 1954Stream this Album Trumpet : Roy Eldridge, Dizzy GillespieBass : Ray BrownDrums : Louis BellsonGuitar : Herb EllisPiano : Oscar PetersonVocals : Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie Billboard : 03/19/1955Score of 79 Roy and Diz playing together? Hard to believe, but true. These two great trumpet players, the outstanding stars of two different jazz eras, combine for…
Clef – MG C-642Rec. Date : April 13, 1954Stream this Album Vibes : Lionel HamptonBass : Ray BrownClarinet : Buddy DeFrancoDrums : Buddy RichPiano : Oscar Peterson Billboard : 03/12/1955Score of 80 It is hard to think of any recent album in which a group of instrumentalists sound so relaxed and at home with each other’s ideas as is the…