Jerome Kern's stage tunes -- going back to the late '20s with the acclaimed presentation Show Boat -- right up to the '40s, will forever be at the core of quintessential American popular songs that hold a dear place in the heart of all straight-ahead jazz performers.
Oscar Peterson's immortal trio with bassist
Ray Brown and drummer
Ed Thigpen play
Kern's themes expertly, with no small degree of interpretation, and a clever angle on these well-worn songs that only
Peterson can self-identify with his genius mindset. The title should be more accurately "The Jerome Kern & Friends Songbook," as he always co-wrote with such notables as
Oscar Hammerstein II,
Otto Harbach,
Ira Gershwin, and
Dorothy Fields, but these are all instrumental versions of his priceless musical scores and are immediately familiar without lyrics. From the actual Show Boat set list, "Ol' Man River" has endured the longest, and here it rumbles with
Thigpen's incredible drums, rambles via
Peterson, then has the pianist and bassist in cross talk with space. "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" is a tender ballad, slowly unfolding as the chiming chords of
Peterson's reflect a melodic comparison of "Stairway to the Stars." The third Show Boat revision, "Bill," is so downplayed and minimal that it is reduced to a steamy crawl. Most astute listeners will easily recognize the perky and hopped up "I Won't Dance" due to
Thigpen's expert brush work, while
Peterson changes up the harmonic insides of the tune and speeds along on a death-defying solo. "The Song Is You" stops and starts fearlessly then jams into fourth gear immediately, "The Way You Look Tonight" is standard, reliable fare remade in
Peterson's image with no strain, and his girthy chords block out "A Fine Romance." There's always a regal side to the pianist in his ability to perceptively tone down his wilder notions; the effortless, serene, and supremely confident take of "Long Ago," a British-styled "Lovely to Look at You," and purely tender "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" act as final answer evidence. Of the many recordings this great jazz trio made, this is one of the top three, and even though it clocks in at under thirty five minutes with no alternate takes. It remains a monument to the
Peterson trio's timeless quality, and is a fitting tribute to
Jerome Kern's everlasting genius as one of the true great American popular songwriters. ~ Michael G. Nastos