Oscar's greatest recording, and I most certainly don't say that lightly since he has so many that are superb! Waltz for Debby is as amazing as ever. I don't know how the heck he hits some of the spans with the fingers that he does. I had the fortune of holding my hand up against his after a concert many years ago, and his fingertips dwarfed mine by 3 or 4 inches, and I can hit a tenth in stride with the left hand. When playing stride, he also has an amazing knack for maintaining the tiniest bit off timing offset between the right and left hands when he wants to - a truly subtle but amazing effect. "Nancy with the Laughing Face" absolutely cooks - it is the highlight of the recording for me. It is set up perfectly first with some relatively gentle solo piano, followed by a rowdy introduction by the trio (including vigorous crowd approval), followed by an NHOP walking bass tour de force that is simply ridiculous. Drum and bass solos are terrific - then the recapitulation into the main theme leads to a thunderous conclusion. "Wow" is all I can say about this recording!
Mi aspettavo molto da questo Trio ( 2/3 del migliore con Pass alla chitarra ) e l'attesa è stata rispettata : Peterson è sempre il mostro, macchina da musica che conoscevo e Pedersen il miglior contrabbassista del jazz. Peccato che sia una performance di oltre vent'anni fa e che,nel frattempo, sia Pass che Pedersen ci hanno lasciati.
I always have mixed feelings about live albums, I can find the applause, and inevitable background noises distracting and irritating. However, with this album I don't find that at all. If you listen intently one can imagine that you are there in the audience for this superb performance!