At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge

When Oscar Peterson arrived at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in early August 1960 for a two-week engagement, the pianist’s year-old trio, featuring bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, was ascending to new artistic peaks. Intended at the time as a live album for Verve but never released, the music on At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge features remarkable, previously unissued performances, all taped on a single Friday night.

No matter the tempo, rhythm, or complexity of the arrangement, the three players breathe as one on these recordings, phrasing as if controlled by a single heartbeat. These new-to-the-world recordings, made in Peterson’s prime at the longest continuously-operating jazz club in the US, remind you that there will never be anyone else like Oscar Peterson.