Oscar Peterson Performance 1983 Live in Tokyo

I too watched that Beato video, just yesterday. Not just technically ridiculous, but musically delicious as well. Pass and Pederson provide tasty accompaniment, but I wish there were a drummer to provide punctuation and to deepen the swing the three create. 

Yeah I caught that the other day. Gotta be one of my favorite Beato video to date . This showed what an absolute force Oscar was. 

mijostyn,
I have loved Oscar's playing for years and it was through listening to him that I discovered Joe Pass. After I write this, I will listen to the performance in your link.
The way a guitarist plays, and what he plays are of course matters of personal taste, but as far as technical ability, Joe Pass is just far beyond any other guitarist in any genre that I have personally heard, including guys like Segovia, Bream and John Williams. His mind is fertile with brilliant ideas of improvisation, and they just flow out of him in a colorful stream. Oscar is of course always brilliant, and Pederson is a great bass player that I have on a number of discs.
Thanks for the heads up! 

Pretty much the same thing here but with another of my top guitar picks
Barney Kessel. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj93v9j2A4A

You probably know he is on the same level as Joe and other greats. But many don't know they have heard his playing in countless movie/tv soundtracks. A wrecking crew member before the "wrecking crew" First call player.

Beato is a good technical analyst.  I always get a refresh course on music theory with Rick.

A VERY good sounding live  LP is "The Good Life" Pablo 1973
Oscar Peterson
Joe Pass
Neils-Henning Orsted Pederesen

Smokin trio. One of those "you are there" recordings.

What wonderful musical ideas they had. Thanks for posting the link to the video.  

@tablejockey , The Good Life was taken from the same sessions as The Trio. I just ordered both of them and everything else recorded by that trio.

@bdp24, as a frustrated drummer myself, I hear you but Peterson is such a powerful piano payer He sets the pace and can drift for emotion and swing without interference from a drummer. So, without a drummer Oscar and the others are set free. From a technical perspective Oscar stands a good chance of being the best jazz pianist who ever lived but from a purely musical perspective I prefer Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock with honorable mentions to Chick Corea (RIP) and McCoy Tyner.

Great to see these greats get some love. Amazing musicians all. However, are we getting two different performances a little mixed up? Maybe I’m missing something? If so, apology and please clarify.

The 1974 trio performance at Ronnie Scott’s (Beato) does not include Joe Pass. It is Barney Kessel on guitar, (no drummer). The provided link in the OP is of a 1983 quartet performance in Tokyo. This time, Joe Pass, Martin Drew on drums, and once again one of Peterson’s very favorite bass players, Niels-Henning Pederson.

BTW, I agree, sometimes I like the drummer-less trio setting. Different and lighter vibe going without a drummer. Highlights just what amazing time players of this caliber have; which is the only way it works without a drummer.

Here is a link to the 1974 Ronnie Scott’s trio performance:

https://youtu.be/MnR6R4vXgUM

Mijo, you mention the beautiful grand piano. Listen to the first note one hears on the above video. Even on my iPad one can hear that the piano is Oscar’s instrument of choice, the Bosendorfer. Fantastic instrument with a distinctive sound and uniquely resonant and clean sounding left hand which extends roughly a half octave lower than most grands.

One more. Amazing!

https://youtu.be/-bkRhge3li4

In case anyone is wondering why the reference to Count Basie.  Don’t miss the conversation between Oscar and the Count towards the end:

https://youtu.be/2HAZP7nWo6A

"The Good Life was taken from the same sessions as The Trio"


The LP jacket says it was recorded at the London House hotel in Chicago-May 1973. I'm guessing it's a "supper club" setting? You can hear the waiters running around, glasses/plates being shuffled
about. Once you settle into the album, you want to signal a waiter over for a drink!

thanks to you and others for the Oscar links. 

He is awesome, heard him live a few times at Blue Note and at Carnegie Hall, met him, very generous with his time, a classy gentleman.

@frogman , whoops, I did give the wrong link. Thanx for pointing that out. Not sure how I did that as I was watching the Ronnie Scott's performance. Computers. 
That's why that piano is so big, that extra 1/2 octave. Must add 5 feet the the piano!
Wouldn't you like to give Joe Pass a Les Paul and see what happens?

@tablejockey,  that atmosphere is pretty generic among jazz musicians. At Blakey and Bill Evans come to mind. They played in clubs. If you are going to practice you might as well get paid for it. I think the atmosphere adds to the recording and on a good system you can imagine being in the venue. 

I saw the Beato video too and I think he was right calling it  the greatest solo he had ever heard. Beato is really good at breaking down what is happening and clearly understands musical theory as well as the musicianship itself. Such a great performance that Kessel and Pederson were both blown away by it as well.

Thanks for posting @mijostyn 

I just watched the clip on Beato's channel.  Simply amazing.  Oscar seems super human (especially what he's playing starting around 13:00 minutes).  The looks between his sidemen are priceless.  Enjoyed the whole thing very much.   

To all, yup the look on them was incredulous and they know what's going on! I have no idea what Peterson is doing from a technical standpoint other than he can go unbelievably fast. He has trained himself to think that fast. He is choosing every note at best in chord form. He plays as fast as any drummer, well maybe not Gavin Harrison, but he is also selecting the notes and the rhythm. A drummer only has to choose from perhap 10 items to hit ( Not Chad Wackerman or Terry Bozio) a piano player has 108 keys. Not sure, I thick Oscar's piano goes down another octave. 
There is a magic in some humans. They can excel at certain tasks far beyond a normal one, Maybe average would be better than normal. 
Don't you wish you could drive an F1 car like Max, or play the piano like Oscar maybe cycle like Lance(w/o the drugs)? It's enough to give us average persons a complex! Or is it that us average folks excel at something else :-)

Here is a link to the 1974 Ronnie Scott’s trio performance:

https://youtu.be/MnR6R4vXgUM

Mijo, you mention the beautiful grand piano. Listen to the first note one hears on the above video. Even on my iPad one can hear that the piano is Oscar’s instrument of choice, the Bosendorfer.

The piano in the video is Steinway. See at 7:58.

Well, I’ll be darned!  Goes to show.  Peterson is known for preferring the Bosendorfer and it sure sounds like one; brilliant and very resonant. …..power of suggestion?  Thanks for pointing that out, mspot.  

Amazing link and artists ..... thanks mijostyn....

In some recording the absence of a drummer is no problem.... In some musical piece and in some part it is even better....

The complicity of the musicians make them being the drum part for the others, when no drummer play sometimes....

But i like drummers for sure....

Imagine Jump Into the Fire without the drummer. 

Good eyes mspot. As far as I know I have never been in the presence of a Bosendorfer but darn, look how looong than piano is! The bass must be incredible. That piano probably goes down to A0? Great link mspot. I marked it.
Like I mentioned above it looks like he liked it a lot. He screws around with the tempo all over the place adding a lot of emotion to his playing. You can't do that when you have a drummer controlling pace and Tempo.
Oscar has become the drums. The piano is a percussive instrument after all :-)