The Very Tall Band - New from the Vaults

[Lois Gilbert]

When pianist Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown and vibist Milt Jackson convened for a performance at the Blue Note in New York City on Thanksgiving weekend in 1998, the music that emerged was as brilliant as it was spontaneous. The performance itself – a landmark collaboration by three jazz giants – garnered critical praise from all corners, as did the resulting recording, THE VERY TALL BAND, released on Telarc in 1999.

But for as fine a recording as THE VERY TALL BAND was, there was plenty of material from the three-night gig that didn’t make the final cut. Elaine Martone, Telarc’s executive vice president of production and producer of the original release, has dug into the vaults and emerged with seven additional tracks recorded at the Blue Note date. The result is WHAT’S UP?, nearly 60 minutes of unreleased material from this historic 1998 performance.