The
Oscar Peterson Trio with bassist
Ray Brown and drummer
Ed Thigpen lacked the competitiveness of his earlier group with
Brown and guitarist
Herb Ellis, and the later daring of his solo performances, but the pianist was generally in peak form during this era. He sticks to standards on this live CD (a good example of
the Trio's playing), stretching out "Sometimes I'm Happy" creatively for over 11 minutes and uplifting such songs as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," "Chicago" and "The Night We Called It a Day." Few surprises occur, but
Peterson plays at such a consistently high level that one doesn't mind. ~ Scott Yanow