Nice Work

The most attractive formation for any keyboard player is the trio format. But how shall a trio be defined? Oscar Peterson's outings show various definitions. It either is the classic trio with piano, bass, and drums. But it can also be 'Oscar Peterson and his Trio', meaning that the piano player is supported by bass, drums, and guitar – so actually this trio is a quartet. The titles we are presenting here are mainly “real” trio recordings, with some of them featuring guest artist Ben Webster. For the eleven titles with guest star Lester Young, though, the musicians were originally announced as 'The Oscar Peterson Trio'. Here Oscar's sidemen are Ray Brown on bass, J.C. Heard on drums, and Barney Kessel on guitar.