by Scott Yanow
The Oscar Peterson Trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen lacked the competitiveness of his earlier group with Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis, and the later daring of his solo performances, but the pianist was generally in peak form during this era. He sticks to standards on this live CD (a good example of the Trio's playing), stretching out &Sometimes I'm Happy& creatively for over 11 minutes and uplifting such songs as &In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,& &Chicago& and &The Night We Called It a Day.& Few surprises occur, but Peterson plays at such a consistently high level that one doesn't mind.