Oscar Peterson - Exclusively For My friends

Girl Talk

The follow-up album to Action, the beginning of the partnership between Oscar Peterson and MPS, features a wide range of nuances in the Canadian's piano play. In addition to the almost soulful charm of the title track, the opener On A Clear Day inspires with its powerful radiance, and an elegantly swinging Robbins Nest is a fiery finale. Peterson acts increasingly as a soloist, for example in the rhapsodic-linked medley of I Concentrate On You and Moon River, which he charges with a monk-like wink. He also appears centrally in the harmoniously elaborated intro to the epic, seventeen-minute I'm In The Mood For Love, into which his two companions quickly and imperceptibly get involved. In addition, the recordings, some of which come from a meeting in November 1967, show an exciting personal change for Peterson towards other comrades-in-arms. Originally lined up with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, the Canadian now relies on Sam Jones (apart from Brown's bass in Robbins Nest), and alternates drums with Bobby Durham and Louis Hayes. All sidemen have also acted as writers for the tracks.

Recorded in the private studio of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer
Recording director & engineer: Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer

Label: MPS