Some guest soloists get overshadowed by
Oscar Peterson's technical prowess, while others meet him halfway with fireworks of their own; trumpeter
Clark Terry lands in the latter camp on this fine 1964 session. With drummer
Ed Thigpen and bassist
Ray Brown providing solid support, the two soloists come off as intimate friends over the course of the album's ten ballad and blues numbers. And while
Peterson shows myriad moods, from
Ellington's impressionism on slow cuts like "They Didn't Believe Me" to fleet, single-line madness on his own "Squeaky's Blues,"
Terry goes in for blues and the blowzy on originals like "Mumbles" and "Incoherent Blues"; the trumpeter even airs out some of his singularly rambling and wonderful scat singing in the process. Other highlights include the rarely covered ballad "Jim" and the even more obscure "Brotherhood of Man" from the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. A very engaging and enjoyable disc. ~ Stephen Cook