Oscar Peterson, who suffered a stroke in 1993, has since made a partial comeback. Although his left hand is weakened, the pianist's right hand is as powerful as ever, and he is able to mostly cover up his deficiencies. This live album,
Tribute, makes it clear that many jazz fans and musicians are delighted to have
Peterson back on the scene again. He performs "Anything Goes" in a quartet with guitarist
Herb Ellis, bassist
Ray Brown, and drummer
Lewis Nash; joins with fellow pianist
Benny Green on a couple of quintet numbers, and welcomes such top players as vibraphonist
Milt Jackson, singer/pianist
Shirley Horn, tenor-saxophonist
Stanley Turrentine (they had never played together before),
Roy Hargrove (whose tender flugelhorn solo on "My Foolish Heart" is a highlight),
the Manhattan Transfer, and flugelhornist
Clark Terry. Few real surprises occur (
Horn's "Here's to Life" is out of place here, and
Clark Terry's "Mumbles" routine goes on too long) but overall, the straight-ahead music is quite pleasing and heartfelt. ~ Scott Yanow