Motions And Emotions Oscar Peterson with Bucky Pizzarelli

• 1 Sally's Tomato 03:08
• 2 Sunny 03:29
• 3 By the Time I Get to Phoenix 04:22
• 4 Wandering 02:55
• 5 This Guy's in Love With You 03:47
• 6 Wave 06:04
• 7 Dreamsville 02:58
• 8 Yesterday 04:03
• 9 Eleanor Rigby 03:06
• 10 Ode to Billy Joe 02:40
• Total Runtime 36:32

Info for Motions And Emotions

For Motions & Emotions, his 1969 orchestral recording for the MPS label, Oscar Peterson was perfectly paired with the magisterial talents of arranger Claus Ogerman. Born in Ratibor, Germany, on April 29, 1930, Ogerman studied music and piano and by the early 1950s, was writing and playing piano for German radio big bands. Upon moving to New York in 1959, Ogerman almost immediately began arranging for pop artists like The Drifters, Leslie Gore, Little Eva and Connie Francis, scoring hit after hit, and adding his uniquely identifiable and classically influenced orchestral sound to albums by Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Wes Montgomery and Frank Sinatra.

Ogerman no longer recalls who was inspired to team the two together: “I assume that the impulse came from Oscar or [Peterson’s manager at the time] Norman Granz, who wanted me to work with other artists of his before.” Whatever the genesis of the idea, it makes for a most provocative collaboration. Unlike the pianist’s previous “with strings” records, there is no attempt on Motions & Emotions to cow-tow to the mere cliché of going for pretty or lush. Ogerman doesn’t “cushion” with strings here so much as provide the pianist with effective counterpoint. Peterson, a force of nature on the piano, is not so easily cradled by other sounds. And Ogerman gives the pianist something inspiring to spring forth from with his own ideas, clearly in the jazz realm.

Motions & Emotions represents the true virtuosity of both Oscar Peterson and Claus Ogerman. Despite a recording situation that separated the pianist from his orchestra, this album expresses a true individuality and sensitivity to seemingly opposing natures. As Peterson biographer Richard Palmer correctly notes in his book Oscar Peterson (Spellmount, 1984), “Oscar fronting a large ensemble has always been an exhilarating formula.” The collaboration with Claus Ogerman has added motions and emotions to extend that formula; one that, nearly four decades on, has positively stood the test of time. (Douglas Payne)

Oscar Peterson, piano
Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar
Sam Jones, bass
Bobby Durham, drums

Recorded at the private studio of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer in March 1969
Recorded and engineered by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and Dave Green
Produced by Matthias Kunnecke, Claus Ogerman, Willy Fruth, Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer

Digitally remastered

Oscar Peterson
was one of the greatest piano players of all time. A pianist with phenomenal technique on the level of his idol, Art Tatum, Peterson's speed, dexterity, and ability to swing at any tempo were amazing. Very effective in small groups, jam sessions, and in accompanying singers, O.P. was at his absolute best when performing unaccompanied solos. His original style did not fall into any specific idiom. Like Erroll Garner and George Shearing, Peterson's distinctive playing formed during the mid- to late '40s and fell somewhere between swing and bop. Peterson was criticized through the years because he used so many notes, didn't evolve much since the 1950s, and recorded a remarkable number of albums. Perhaps it is because critics ran out of favorable adjectives to use early in his career; certainly it can be said that Peterson played 100 notes when other pianists might have used ten, but all 100 usually fit, and there is nothing wrong with showing off technique when it serves the music. As with Johnny Hodges and Thelonious Monk, to name two, Peterson spent his career growing within his style rather than making any major changes once his approach was set, certainly an acceptable way to handle one's career. Because he was Norman Granz's favorite pianist (along with Tatum) and the producer tended to record some of his artists excessively, Peterson made an incredible number of albums. Not all are essential, and a few are routine, but the great majority are quite excellent, and there are dozens of classics.

This album contains no booklet.