Oscar Peterson: City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet – Live in Munich, 1994

The first big challenge presented by the latest grand release from the Oscar Peterson archives, City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet—Live in Munich, 1994 is how not to spontaneously burst into dance, either with yourself or some total stranger who happens to be within five miles of earshot of the ecstatic opener, "There Will Never Be Another You." The second challenge is not to interrupt the listening experience of others with wild, joyful whoops, hollers, and well-intentioned hyperbole.

Recorded fourteen months after the pianist suffered a stroke that left his once thunderous left hand greatly diminished in strength and dexterity, the fifth installment in Mack Avenue's collaboration with Peterson's estate, City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet -Live in Munich, 1994 is so so much more than easy or lazy nostalgia. It is a testament to the grandness and persistence of the human spirit.

Produced by Kelly Peterson, widow and keeper of the flame, City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet—Live in Munich, 1994 is a rollicking feast from beginning to end. Fighting back disappointment with his ongoing health issues, Peterson bounds rapturously from the very start as bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, guitarist Lorne Lofsky, and drummer Martin Drew light up Munich's Münchner Philharmonie with a profound fervor. Pedersen and Drew set the poppy and peppery pace for Lofsky's tastefully fluid calligraphy. Peterson, obviously responding to the warm, welcoming ovation, sets into motion a ringing set graced with original gems (the airily intoxicating "The Gentle Waltz;" the rambunctious elastic interplay of "Night Time") with the Mack Gordon opener and a most enticing, all-hands-on-deck take onDuke Ellington's "Satin Doll," after which the audience erupts with ardent appreciation.

Hardcore Oscar-ites may notice the loss of counterpoint and power, but to the casual listener out for a night on the town, the set rings profusely with Peterson's humor and humanity. "Kelly's Blues" and "City Lights" certainly attest to that. Add to the set Petersen's exuberantly moody "Samba Petite" which could have easily become a steal-the-show moment for the bassist but instead reveals a quick-witted group-think that hip hops to glory and quickly becomes, out of the two hundred plus albums boast his indelible stamp, one of those recordings to be listened to and prized.

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