Self Authoring Peterson

Jerome Kern's stage tunes – going back to the late '20s with the acclaimed presentation Show Boat – right up to the '40s, will forever be at the core of quintessential American popular songs that hold a dear place in the heart of all straight-ahead jazz performers. Oscar Peterson's immortal trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen play Kern's themes expertly, with no small degree of interpretation, and a clever angle on these well-worn songs that only Peterson can self-identify with his genius mindset. The title should be more accurately "The Jerome Kern & Friends Songbook," as he always co-wrote with such notables as Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Ira Gershwin, and Dorothy Fields, but these are all instrumental versions of his priceless musical scores and are immediately familiar without lyrics. ~ AllMusic

As the title and cover art suggests, Triple Fret is a player's album. Although Bernard Allison gets star billing (and does all the vocals), this is a trio record, with fellow electric blues guitarists Larry McCray and Carl Weathersby contributing as much guitar firepower as Allison. Even better, second-generation Hammond organ legend Lucky Peterson guests, adding some welcome musical variety to the otherwise fret-heavy selection and getting his own showcase, the smoking seven-minute instrumental workout "Where's Lucky?" That leaves the songwriting as the only weak spot, but unfortunately, it's pretty seriously weak. Most of the songs on Triple Fret are hackneyed Chicago blues riffs with self-referential lyrics about how hard it is to be a bluesman. Tune out the lyrics and the undistinguished chord changes and the sheer enjoyment of the trio's playing comes through. For some, however, that might not be quite enough.