Oscar Peterson - The Classic Verve Albums Collection - 4XCD

Born 25th August, 1925 in Montreal, Canada, Oscar Emmanuel Peterson grew up in Little Burgundy, a predominantly black neighbourhood in greater Quebec. He took up piano and trumpet at age five, quickly becoming adept on both instruments. At seven he was diagnosed with tuberculosis which prevented him from playing the trumpet, he thus concentrated on the piano during this time, practising four to six hours a day. Studying under the Hungarian-born player Paul de Marky - himself a student of virtuoso Istvan Thoman - the young Oscar began learning classical piano but later switched to jazz styles, most notably 'boogie-woogie'.

 By 1961, with the piano-bass-drums line up now firmly established, the OPT performed a week's residency at The London House, a renowned jazz spot in Chicago. These performances were among the finest the new line-up ever gave, and were released on Verve as four separate albums; The Trio, Something Warm, The Sound Of The Trio and Put On A Happy Face, in '61 and early '62. The following year, Peterson's most commercially successful record Night Train (Verve, 1963), was released, another Trio masterpiece that due to its shorter track times, received considerable radio play.

Oscar Peterson's extraordinary career spanned more than 60 years during which time he won eight Grammys among a host of other awards and honours, and played on over 200 albums. His live repertoire was equally impressive and the great man remains among the most respected jazz musicians of all time. This 4CD collection brings together eight of Oscar Peterson's finest albums, all recorded for the esteemed Verve label during his heyday in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A dynamic introduction to Peterson's best work, this box set equally serves as a welcome reminder for those already familiar.

Disc 1:
I Want To Be Happy
Pennies From Heaven
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered/Dont Know Why (I Just Do)/How Long Has This Been Going On/I Can't Get Started/Polka Dots And Moonbeams
I'm Glad There Is You
Tour's End
I Was Doing All Right
Bronx Blues
The Touch Of Your Lips
When Your Lover Has Gone
Bye Bye Blackbird
How Deep Is The Ocean
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
Sunday
This Can't Be Love
Disc 2:
I've Never Been In Love Before
In The Wee Small Hours of The Morning
Chicago
The Night We Called It A Day
Sometimes I'm Happy
Whisper Not
Billy Boy
(There Is) No Greater Love
I Remember Clifford
Autumn Leaves
Blues For Big Scotia
Swamp Fire
I Love You
Disc 3:
Tricrotism
On Green Dolphin Street
Thag's Dance
Ill Wind
Kadota's Blues
Put On A Happy Face
Old Folks
Woody 'N' You
Yesterdays
Diablo
Soon
The Lonesome One
Disc 4:
Night Train
C Jam Blues
Georgia On My Mind
Bags' Groove
Moten Swing
Easy Does It
Honey Dripper
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
Band Call
Hymn To Freedom
Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars)
The Days Of Wine And Roses
My One And Only Love
People
Have You Met Miss Jones
You Look Good To Me
The Girl From Ipanema
D & E
Time And Again
Goodbye J.D