Oscar Peterson Exclusively For My Friends Vol. V: Mellow Mood Super-Audio CD

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The fifth volume of Oscar Peterson's Exclusively for My Friends series is another lively trio affair with Sam Jones and Bobby Durham, though the album title Mellow Mood is a bit deceptive. "In a Mellow Tone" plunges in full force with a bluesy performance, with the audience responding to Peterson's opening solo as Durham switches from brushes to sticks. Peterson's amusing detour into Mercer Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" and Jones' driving bass add to its appeal. His arrangement of Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" begins quietly before he slowly turns on the turbochargers in an inspired performance. Gone is the overly dramatic introduction to "On Green Dolphin Street" heard during the earlier 1961 sessions at the London House; this interpretation is far more compelling as it doesn't seek to overwhelm the listener with the pianist's technique. The snappy take of "Summertime" is infused with a blues feeling in a brisk setting, while "Who Can I Turn To" evokes the memory of Art Tatum, though this composition was obviously never recorded by Oscar's good friend. Peterson fires up the tempo as Jones and Durham join him. Reissued as a part of a four-CD set in 1992, this single-disc Super Audio edition gives the listener the feeling of being in the studio as the performances initially took place. ~ Ken Dryden

Personnel: Oscar Peterson (piano); Bobby Durham (drums).

Liner Note Author: Leonard Feather.