The Great American

This single-disc Oscar Peterson collection, Oscar Peterson Plays the Best of the Great American Songbooks, culls tracks from throughout the pianist's career. Primarily, the focus here is on Peterson's takes on standard songs by such composers as Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, and others. Included are songs like "That Old Black Magic," "Blue Moon," "A Fine Romance," and more.

Rod Stewart - The Best Of The Great American Songbook (2011)
MP3 VBR V2 167kbps avg | 50:30 min | 60,83MB | 1CD
Soul | Label: Sony Music

THE BEST OF…THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK presents the highlights from five albums, recorded across eight years, which have become nothing less than a musical and cultural phenomenon. In addition, this new “Songbook” collection features one, newly recorded, never before released track "You’ll Never Know,” produced by one of Rod’s longtime collaborators Richard Perry, along with brand new mixes of “Someone To Watch Over Me” and “Bye Bye Blackbird.”

Since playing the Great American Songbook oft times reveals the depth of a musician's ability to read charts, one might assume that is what's happening here. Thankfully, Oscar Peterson never needed no stinkin' fake book, as he learned the tunes and played them, by ear, with effortless acumen. A 19-song collection of chestnuts, this CD includes many well worn standards, swing to bop interpretations and a good stack of Duke Ellington numbers. Right-hand man Ray Brown is on the bass, but it is Barney Kessel, not OP's regular guitarist Herb Ellis on the date. There are more definitive compilations, and many others certain to come after Peterson's passing in 2007.