Oscar Peterson – We Get Requests (Tape)

A request programme with its own identity

The title We Get Requests suggests an evening in which the audience determines the programme. Its familiar melodies certainly provide an inviting way into the record: “The Girl from Ipanema”, “People” and “The Days of Wine and Roses” sit alongside pieces that lead more directly into the language of the jazz trio. Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen do not turn them into a disconnected sequence of wishes fulfilled. They connect material from different musical settings through a common working method, continually shifting responsibilities between three instruments while preserving the larger shape.

The recordings were made at RCA Studios in New York in 1964. Much of the programme can be assigned to two October dates, with “Goodbye J.D.” added at a later session. Even this detail is a useful reminder that apparent ease should not be confused with accident. The sequence brings together concise forms, recognisable themes and contrasting rhythmic impulses. You do not need a background in jazz harmony to find a way in. Closer attention, however, reveals carefully organised interaction beneath each familiar melody, giving the album something to offer beyond recognition alone.

Three musicians, three flexible roles

Peterson's piano is the obvious centre of attention, but Ray Brown's double bass and Ed Thigpen's drums do considerably more than provide a frame. All three musicians appear on every one of the ten tracks. That continuity makes differences between pieces easier to notice. How much space does the piano occupy? When does the bass emerge as a melodic voice in its own right? How can a change in percussion alter the weight of a phrase? These are the means by which a trio turns an existing song into a new performance.

“You Look Good to Me” is an especially useful starting point. Instead of following only the rapid piano lines, try moving your attention deliberately between the three players. This changes the perspective on Peterson's virtuosity: the issue is not simply the number of notes available to him, but his ability to respond to his partners' movements. Brown and Thigpen are not supplying an immovable foundation. They keep the exchange active. A recording like this can therefore reward both the immediate pleasure of recognising a theme and a more concentrated attempt to follow one instrumental part.

Bossa nova, Broadway and the trio tradition

“Corcovado” and “The Girl from Ipanema” bring Antônio Carlos Jobim's music into the programme. “People” introduces another songwriting setting, while “Have You Met Miss Jones?” and “My One and Only Love” create further possibilities for the group. This breadth is part of the album's character. Rather than repeating one accompaniment beneath interchangeable tunes, the trio encounters different reasons to reconsider the relationship between rhythm, harmony and melody. The constant is the personnel, not the origin of the material or a single arrangement applied to everything.

One small but revealing attribution concerns “D. & E.”: it is a John Lewis composition, not a Peterson original. Details like this help place the album within a wider repertoire. The ten tracks retain their original order here, from the opening “Corcovado” to “Goodbye J.D.”. No additional concert programme or collection of alternative takes extends the sequence. Its bounded selection is part of the appeal. Within a relatively concise album, the musicians demonstrate how many contrasting situations can be created using piano, bass and drums, without needing to change the group's basic dimensions.

This particular tape edition

Analogue Productions issues We Get Requests as Ultra Tape RRAP 0025. The edition comprises two reels of quarter-inch tape running at 15 ips, in two-track or half-track format. The publisher specifies IEC playback equalisation, also known as CCIR. These details must be considered together: tape speed, track configuration and equalisation need to match the playback machine. NAB in the description of a reel hub refers to its mechanical mounting, and should not automatically be read as a statement about the equalisation used for the recorded signal.

The publisher describes real-time duplication on an ATR-modified Ampex machine, using a copy of the original analogue master tape. This does not fully document the sequence of tape generations involved. Nor should mastering credits from other editions be assigned to this tape without supporting evidence. The musical proposition is clear: the complete ten-track album, performed by Peterson, Brown and Thigpen. The changing demands of its repertoire, combined with the stability of the personnel, make it an unusually accessible introduction to the possibilities of the piano trio.

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Also in another edition: We Get Requests

More by Oscar Peterson: Night Train

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented participants in this recording. Publisher-only credits are identified; track references correspond to the tracklist.