Oscar Peterson Trio: Monday YouTube Fix

If I could play the piano like Oscar Peterson, I would never get off the piano bench.  His ability to solo both vertically and horizontally in such a fluid manner was truly stunning.  I love listening to him periodically sing along with himself in this clip. Ray Brown has always been one of my heroes, someone whose playing I try to emulate when playing bass lines on the tuba.  You then throw in the sweeping phrasing of Ed Thigpen on the drums and you've got one hell of a band.

This version of C Jam Blues was recorded live in Denmark in 1964.  Oh to have been in the crowd on this occasion.  It makes me happy to see that this video has over one million views.

Enjoy!

Monday YouTube Fix: Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Ed Thigpen

Oscar Peterson is such a bad man that it's hard to process.  Combine him with one of the best bass players in the world and a drummer with amazing touch and you've got a winner. Tunes don't get much more simple than C Jam Blues.  Couple that with the elegant and transparent instrumentation of a piano trio and it allows for a lot of space for these three gentlemen to operate.  I love the piano breakdowns.  As with any great jazz musician, Oscar keeps grooving his you know what off when the rhythm section drops off.  We classical players can learn a lot from that.

Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJhHn-TuDY&feature=related]