“Benny Carter Meets Oscar Peterson”—the album title represents the creative encounter of two giants of the 1950s Verve jazz scene. On November 14, 1986, these two exceptional musicians, along with Joe Pass (guitar), Dave Young (bass), and Martin Drew (drums), as well as producer and Pablo label owner Norman Granz, came together in the studio to record this remarkable album as a quintet. Benny Carter, 79 years old at the time of the recording, astonished with his vitality and creativity. Peterson was his equal in terms of power and swing. Indeed, the session has something of the light-footed Verve recordings of that era and gives Carter, the true star of the show, plenty of room for his unique alto saxophone sound, which was allowed to spread over the gentle band rhythms. As Cannonball Adderley once said of Carter with great admiration: “That’s a bad old man!”
As part of the “Pablo Reissue Series,” Analogue Productions pays tribute to this jazz gem with a sonically superb reissue, lovingly mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab. The LP, pressed on 180-gram vinyl by industry leader Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and cut at 33 rpm, comes in a tip-on sleeve from Stoughton Printing.
