Lionel Hampton & Oscar Peterson - The Complete Quartets & Quintets

This five-CD set might begin with sultry, quavering vibraphone and delicately struck piano notes, but the temperature stays low for only the briefest of time. For the rest of the set, the temperature is high and the groove is on. Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and pianist Oscar Peterson joined arms in the studio fewer than 10 times between 1953 and 1954 to cut the 15 or so records that comprise this set. They were an in-studio band exclusively, never unleashing their alchemy on audiences, perhaps because Hampton didn't need to--at least in a material sense. From historical and aesthetic points of view, it's a shame Peterson and Hampton didn't take this unit to the stage. Buddy Rich, who drums on all the sessions, is monstrous, playing wistfully along on "These Foolish Nights" and then blazing through "Flying Home," emphasizing how potent a vibes-fronted band could be in the postbop days of the early 1950s. These years were also the historical launching point for the most successful band ever to feature vibes and piano, the Modern Jazz Quartet. And maybe Hamp was looking to blast off, too, asserting himself in powerhouse swing sessions as the MJQ refined themselves into a restrained ensemble that made sense equally to classical and jazz fans--engaging a genuine dialogue over the differing paths this instrumental setup could take. In any event, Hamp blasted off, and OP shows himself primed for the speed and power. There are numerous spots across these tracks where the band is cruising so fast and playing so hard that you can hear both Peterson and Hampton grunting, not as Keith Jarrett is wont to do, but as weightlifters do. Certainly Ray Brown's ever-present bass is elemental to the force, but Rich's drumming is so intense and unyielding that the band is almost destined to play up to his force field. Given all that, there really isn't much here that will strike most listeners as visionary or revolutionary. Things cook fervently, as if the band is hell-bent on pressing core swing elements home in an era when the music's popularity was waning. --Andrew Bartlett Amazon.com

Some of the best

Since I bought this set, I have listened to it over and over and over again. Hampton's solos are so creative and tasteful, I never tire of them. Unless you have to have something in Stereo, you cannot go wrong with this. June 13, 2008

THIS IS JAZZ!

Hamp and O.P. swing like crazy on these most excellent tracks. Bonus is Buddy DeFranco on clarinet: damn! he's good!!

All these guys work together so well; the standards are great; the recorded sound is great: this is jazz! Totally worth the price. September 28, 2005

More Outstanding Small Group Swing Sessions from Verve

Thank God for Norman Granz - the undervalued genius who produced these sessions and founded Verve! I say that just about any time I pop in one of my 1950's small group swing CD's from the Verve vaults. And this collection is no exception. In fact it might represent a pinnacle of sorts where Granz was able to bring together some of the finest swing musicians of the period and let them just wail. Recorded in 1953 and 1954, this 5-CD set is ripe with standards and some blues, most of which are up tempo and driven hard behind the rhythm section of Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar and Buddy Rich on drums. The interplay between Peterson on piano and Hampton on vibes makes these recordings come to life and a bit of Buddy De Franco on clarinet is icing on the cake. There's a single CD compilation if you're not certain that a vibes and piano lead session is for you but this is one box set worth owning and listening to again and again. July 4, 2000

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