# Night Train - Oscar Peterson Trio



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

In the third of three posts this January, we now turn to my vinyl collection and another look at _trios_. In my last post, I suggested that the "standard classical trio" consists of piano, violin and cello, however trios come in all shapes, be it the *Brahms *trio we featured last time, or as is the case today, the "standard jazz trio" combination of piano, bass and drums.

In jazz (as in all ensemble play, really) there are several types of trios. In addition to the piano/bass/drum trio, another type of jazz trio that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s is the _organ trio_, which is composed of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and a third instrumentalist (either a saxophone player or an electric jazz guitarist). Other types of trios include the "drummer-less" trio, which consists of a piano player, a double bassist, and a horn (saxophone or trumpet) or guitar player; and the jazz trio with a horn player (saxophone or trumpet), double bass player, and a drummer. In the latter type of trio, the lack of a chordal instrument means that the horn player and the bassist have to imply the changing harmonies with their improvised lines.

Legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) redefined the jazz trio by bringing the musicianship of all three members to the highest level. The trio with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis was, in his own words, "the most stimulating" and productive setting. As Ellis was white, Peterson's trios were racially integrated, a controversial move at the time that was fraught with difficulties with segregationist whites and blacks.

All three musicians were equal contributors involved in a highly sophisticated improvisational interplay. When Ellis left the group in 1958, Peterson and Brown believed they could not adequately replace Ellis. Ellis was replaced by drummer Ed Thigpen in 1959. Brown and Thigpen worked with Peterson on his albums _Night Train_ and _Canadiana Suite_. Brown and Thigpen left in 1965 and were replaced by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes (and later, drummer Bobby Durham).

In the 1970s Peterson formed another trio with guitarist Joe Pass and "the Great Dane" Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass. This trio emulated the success of the 1950s trio with Brown and Ellis, gave acclaimed performances at numerous festivals, and made best-selling recordings, most notably The Trio, which won the 1974 Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Group, and the 1978 double album recorded live in Paris.

For your listening pleasure, I chose to program the 1962-63 Verve release Night Train, which is considered one of Peterson's most commercially successful recordings. I think one of the reasons for that success was that it received very favourable air play at the time - the brief duration of many of the tracks was intentional as commercial radio stations were reluctant to play any tracks longer than a few minutes. The Penguin Guide to Jazz included it in its core collection, claiming "it's one of the best long-players of the period" and that Peterson's playing is "tight and uncharacteristically emotional".

Night Train includes stately covers of blues and R&B standards like "The Honeydripper," "C-Jam Blues," "Georgia on My Mind," "Bags' Groove," "Moten Swing," and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be."

(The YouTube video also includes six tracks recorded at the same session that weren't released on the original vinyl LP, including "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Volare," as well as alternate takes of "Night Train" and "Moten Swing.")








*Jimmy FORREST (1920-1980 )*
_Night Train_ (1951)

*Edward Kennedy ("Duke") ELLINGTON (1899-1974)*
_C Jam Blues_ (1942)

*Hoagland Howard CARMICHAEL (1899-1981)*
_Georgia On My Mind_ (1930)

*Milton JACKSON (1923-1999)*
_Bags' Groove_ (1952)

*Bennie MOTEN (1894-1935)*
_Moten Swing_ (1932)

*Melvin James ("Sy") OLIVER (1910-1988)
James Oliver YOUNG (1912-1984)*
_Easy Does It _(1940)

*Joe LIGGINS (1915-1987)*
_Honey Dripper _(1944)

*Mercer Kennedy ELLINGTON (1919-1996)*
_Things Ain't What They Used To Be_ (1942)

*Edward Kennedy ("Duke") ELLINGTON *
_I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good) _(1941)
_Band Call _(ca. 1954)

*Oscar Emmanuel PETERSON (1925-2007)*
_Hymn To Freedom_ (1962)

Oscar Peterson - piano
Ray Brown - double bass
Ed Thigpen - drums

Recorded in Los Angeles, Calif., on December 15 & 16, 1962
Verve Records V6-8538






_Thanks to Ted Wheel for posting this video._


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

*We are repurposing the music from this post as a new montage in our ongoing A la Carte series on the For Your Listening Pleasure podcast February 8, 2021. The following notes are an update .*

This classic jazz piano album Night Train was recorded by The Oscar Peterson Trio almost 60 years ago in Los Angeles on December 15 and 16, 1962. It's a record that belongs in every collection, whether you're presently a jazz fan or whether you've taken a vow against improvised music, thinking it's incomprehensible and annoying.

The original album contained just 11 songs, and the re-released digital version adds several more. Verve recordings were always known for their quality of music and the outstanding artwork on their covers. Night Train is one of the most famous jazz albums of all time, and deservedly so.

Today's re-post expands the original offering with a number of bonus tracks, including some alternate takes of the original material, and a few more hitherto unreleased contemporaneous studio recordings.

Happy-Go-Lucky Local (Aka "Night Train")
Written-By - Duke Ellington
C-Jam Blues
Written-By - Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington
Georgia On My Mind
Written-By - Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell
Bags' Groove
Written-By - Milt Jackson
Moten Swing
Written-By - Bennie Moten
Easy Does It
Written-By - Sy Oliver, Trummy Young
Honey Dripper
Written-By - Joe Liggins
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
Written-By - Mercer Ellington, Ted Persons
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
Written-By - Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster
Band Call
Written-By - Duke Ellington
Hymn To Freedom
Written-By - Oscar Peterson
[VR-13]

Happy-Go-Lucky Local (Aka "Night Train") [Alternative Take]
Written-By - Duke Ellington
Volare
Written-By - Domenico Modugno, Francesci Migliacci*, Mitchell Parish
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Written-By - Cole Porter
Moten Swing (Rehearsal Take)
Written-By - Bennie Moten
Now's The Time
Written-By - Charlie Parker
This Could Be The Start Of Something
Written-By - Steve Allen
[NEW]

Discogs - https://www.discogs.com/The-Oscar-Peterson-Trio-Night-Train/release/2165814 
YouTube Playlist - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5ae6iB5xkhF61vFUWGGD4RGnLgdf1BwR
Internet Archive - https://archive.org/details/alc-07


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