In Tune

Description

Masterful piano playing meets elaborate vocal harmony on this legendary MPS summit from the label’s early days. Oscar Peterson, with bassist George Mraz and drummer Louis Hayes, provide a counterweight to the Chicago vocal architects. Peterson himself was behind the initial contact between the MPS studio and The Singers Unlimited (TSU). That contact turned into a fruitful decade-long relationship; the superb technology of the Black Forest studio perfectly met the sophisticated demands of vocalist and leader Gene Puerling. Recorded in 1971, In Tune is TSU’s first album on MPS. It draws on the languages of both musical poles, whether in the oscillating back-and-forth of the opener, “Sesame Street,” or in the transition from the reverent, orchestral choral intro to Peterson’s sparkling piece on “It Never Entered My Mind.” The same is true of the dreamy arrangement of “The Shadow Of Your Smile”; in his role as a delicate accompanist, Peterson pares it down to the essentials. Peterson and TSU soprano Bonnie Herman take improvised strolls together on Michel Legrand’s nostalgic ballad “Once Upon A Summertime.” Two Brazilian excursions are featured: in Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Children’s Game,” TSU offers polysyllabic ornamentation to Peterson’s lively waltz fantasy; in Luis Bonfa’s “The Gentle Rain,” Peterson plays with the passionate choral harmonies.