Artist:Oscar Peterson Ben Webster
Song:Perdido
Album:During This Time
When I watched the excellent documentary Oscar Peterson: Black + White, the only thing that bothered me was that Danish bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (NHOP) was never mentioned in the film. He worked with Peterson from 1972-87. So I believe he was as important to Peterson as Ray Brown was in the 50s. And you know what, Brown agrees with me. He thought NHOP was the only other bassist who could keep up with Peterson. So he should have been mentioned in the doc. This is to correct that oversight. NHOP was born May 27, 1946 in Osted, Zealand, Denmark. His father was church organist. NHOP took piano lessons as a child. But he took up the bass as a teen and formed his first band at age 15. He was 17 when Count Basie offered him a job but NHOP turned it down. His main influences are Walter Page, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro and Ray Brown. NHOP moved to Paris and was the house bassist at the jazz club The Montmartre which was a regular stop for touring US jazz musicians. And that's where he met Peterson. At the time, Peterson was at a low point in his career especially after Verve Records closed. He thought NHOP was as good as Brown. So he took him on the road and formed a trio with guitarist Joe Pass. This collaboration revitalized Peterson's career at Norman Granz' new label Pablo Records. The problem was I could find live clips of Peterson and NHOP performing. But they never recorded the song. That is also true of the jazz classic Perdido. But I have found a CD of a 1972 live recording featuring jazz sax legend Ben Webster. The drummer is Tony Incalazo, an American who lived in Germany. It was filmed for German TV on Dec. 14, 1972 in Hannover, Germany. The CD and DVD were released in 2014 on the German label MIG's jazz label Art of Groove. As I said, Peterson and NHOP worked together until 1987. NHOP also recorded as a leader mostly for SteepleChase. He may have looked like a college professor but he was highly respected by his peers. Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen died on Apr. 19, 2005 at age 58. Here's Oscar Peterson, Ben Webster, Neils-Henning Orsted Petersen and Tony Incalazo preforming Perdido in Hannover, Germany Dec. 14, 1972.
No comments:
Post a Comment