Oscar Peterson Girl Talk (Exclusively for My Friends, Vol. II) 180g LP

The follow-up album to Action, the beginning of the partnership between Oscar Peterson and MPS, features a wide range of nuances in the Canadian's playing. In addition to the almost soulful appeal of the title track, the opener "On a Clear Day" delights with its powerful radiance, and an elegantly swinging "Robbins Nest" provides a fiery finale. Peterson increasingly acts as a soloist, for example in the rhapsodically linked medley of "I Concentrate on You" and "Moon River," which he charges with a Monk-like wink. He also takes center stage in the harmoniously elaborated intro to the epic, seventeen-minute "I'm in the Mood for Love," which his two companions join in almost imperceptibly. In addition, the recordings, some of which come from a session in November 1967, show an exciting personnel change. After the original lineup with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, the Canadian now relies on Sam Jones (apart from Brown's bass in "Robbins Nest"), with Bobby Durham and Louis Hayes taking turns on drums. All of the sidemen have also written the songs.