The Oscar Peterson Trio - We Get Requests (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series) (180g) (LP)

Nothing less than one of the great jazz piano trio albums of all time. First released in 1964, We Get Requests features all-time-classic versions of "The Girl From Ipanema", "Quiet Nights" and "The Days Of Wine And Roses".

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets.

I am so impressed with this new Acoustic Sounds edition of We Get Requests that I have no problem getting rid of my well-loved old original copy. Why? The music sounds better. The cover design is improved. The whole production is high-quality, and just what one would expect from an audiophile-oriented reissue like this one.

As the title spells out, these are songs that the trio were most often asked to play during their many residencies and gigs. As such they slip into favorites like 'Corcovado' and 'The Days of Wine and Roses' with a comfort that allows each player to have fun with these familiar melodies and turn their solos into virtuosic fireworks displays. The remastering job by Ryan Smith is, as ever, dynamite, but as I sit here listening to the trio sashay through 'The Girl From Ipanema,' I'm struck by how present each instrument is. Even at a pleasant shuffle, Thigpen's drumming rips through the speakers and pulls me even deeper into these spectacular performances.