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It was not long before the lure of such fereedom led Perlman to commission a full set of jazz pieces from Andre Previn, and in 1980 their first full jazz album, A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLUES, was recorded. Tje instrumentation was the same as for the currect disc, and even today the shimmering cascades of Perlman´s glittering solo breaks on the title track, punctuated by Shelly Manne´s drums, bring a shiver to the spine. In 1981 Previn and Perlman made a follow-up: IT´S A BREEZE. At the time, i was working with Andre Previn on a series of introductory books on music for children, and i remember the warmth and enthusiasm with which he talked about his jazz collaborations with Itzhak. "We´ve had such fun", he said. Later he wrote that he had underestimated Itzhak´s musical curiosity and sense of adventure: here was a musician who had conquered the world of classical music still experimenting, still pursuing another kind of musical freedom. AAnd the same is true today. Listening to this collaboration between Perlman and Peterson, the main question is why they waited so many years to get together. Oscar Peterson´s glitterng jazz career has seen him at the top of his profession for the bes part of half of a century. In many ways his musican quest has been the reverse of Perlman´s moving from the freedom of jazz improvisation to the formal world of composition. In thousands of sessions over the years, Peterson has proved his superme skill as an accompanist as well as his formidable power as a soloist. But it is only relatively recently that his biographer Gene Lees observed how, in his later work, Oscar has frequently overlooked any statement of the melody and moved directly into his own interpretation. When Lees challenged Oscar on this point, he answered in a typically reflective way that he thought it had to do with spendig more and more of his time composing and that this was affecting his playing. Just as Itzhak Perlman has recorded jazz before, so Oscan Peterson has made albums featuring a solo violin. In 1973 he produced a memorable collaboration with Grappelli, and the thwo men recorded together again in 1979. In recent times, however, Peterson has played and recordd infrequently with his classic trio of the 1950s, featuring Brown and Ellis. Fortunately, in 190, they had the opportunity to record for several nights during a reunion at New York´s Blue Not club, and the result was four albums for Telarc (CD-83304, 83306, 83314 and 83356). Ill hearlth kept Oscar out of the limelight for much of 1993 and early 1994, but this album marks his return, with his famous trio, in exceptional form. Oscar Peterson´s concern for compositional structure, coupled with his free-flowing ideas, plus Itzhak Perlman´s intention to break out of the stykustuc straightjacket but preserve his magnificent tone and technique, means that the album has a number of highlights. In particular, Perlman´s experience at working with similar instrumentation in the past suggests that the settings were adroitly produced, offering tonal variety across the album. A good example is GEORGIA ON MY MIND, where Itzhak takes the melody with just Herb Ellis´s soft chording and Grady Tate´s subtle support behind him for most of the furst chorus, Ray Brown sliding into place for the final eightmeasures with one of those sublime bass lines where every note is placed perfectly. Oscar picks up momentum with his piano solo, adding a gospel-blues feel in the middle eight, exploiting the move into the minor, In just the same way, Herb Ellis takes the centrak part of the piece next time round, before he and Itzhak lead the way out, once more supported by Tate´s brushwork, before the piano coda. The arrangement is extreamly effective and give just the right variety in timbre. Ringing the changes, the introduction to BLUE SKIES features Oscar and Ray Brown before everyone falls in behind Itzhak´s statement of the theme. Again, to break up the texture, Oscar take the "channel", and follows with a characteristic solo, before some bravura fireworks from Itzhak. It would be a simple matter to follow this with a normal solo chorus for guitar, but again, the breaks behind Ellis add variety and interest, paving the way for a complete contract, as Itzhak and Ray work some pizzicato riffs together. Just when everything seems to be coming to a close, Oscar and Itzhak start to a close, Oscar and Itzhak start trading follow-the-leader phrases, excelling at this party trick of every jazz "cutting contest". A total contract comes with the duet by Itzhak and Oscal on I LOVES YOU PORGY and this is in keeping with the warm middle-register sound that Itzhak brings to his ballad-playing elsewhere, notably on MISTY and STORMY WEATHER. This last piece opens and closes with just the duo of piano and violin, and Itzhak contrasts him warm middle refister for the opening statement of the theme by pushing it up an octave after the trio takes the middle eight. Herb Ellis has often remarked how Oscar brings weight and movement to a performance, and so it is here, as he pushes things up a gear after the opening chorus, generating excitement and bustle, while Grady Tate catches the mood exactly and adds a thythm and blues-tinged backbeat. The degree to which Oscar catches and dictates the mood of the piece is only obvious when the violin and piano reyurn for the sublime and simple ending. Knowing when to keep things simple is the mark of a great soloist, and Itzhak makes the most of Erroll Garner´s ballad theme in MISTY. Ray Brown´s subtle bass obligato contrasts with the simplicity of the melody itself, and once more Tate and Peterson add altered inflections to the mood of the piece during the piano solo. SIDE BY SIDE is a reqarding combination. From the fiery echoes of Gypsy fiddles in the passionate introduction to DARK EYES to the effortless swing of BLUE SKIES, Itzhak proves he is just as effective plauong standards as he was on his earlier collaborations with Andre Pervin where the compositions were specially written for him. Oscar marks his return to health and vigor with characteristically deft accompaniments, fiery solos, and grandeur in his playing. Together, the trio fits like a well-oiled machine, and Grady tate sounds as if he´s held down the drum chair all his life. Let´s hope the consequence is many more albums to come. --- Alyn Shipton. שיט, זה היה מעייף. חסר לכם שלא תקראו את זה!!!
אגב, לדיסק קוראים SIDE BY SIDE. שי
