Taken from sessions for the Mercury label co-opted by Verve, this 11-tune set has pianist
Oscar Peterson in exclusively small-group settings, mostly trios. Trumpeter
Clark Terry joins in for the
Peterson original "Roundalay" and a spirited "Mack the Knife." There's one other
O.P. composition, the pensive "Wheatland," with the rest being a solid fare of standards, ballads, and blues. You expect
Peterson to cut loose once in a while, and he does on a rip-roaring take of "If I Were a Bell." A compacted slice of his huge discography for sure -- there are larger collections from this mid-'60s time frame, and better single albums -- but these are good picks during what was a fruitful period for the great Canadian jazzman. ~ Michael G. Nastos