Night Train (Oscar Peterson album)

Album producer Norman Granz had sold the record label Verve, but remained Peterson's manager, and so supervised the Night Train recording session. The brief duration of many of the tracks has been attributed to a desire to have them played on commercial radio, which was reluctant to play any tracks longer than a few minutes. The cover art photograph is by Pete Turner and original sleeve notes were by Benny Green. The album was dedicated to Peterson’s father, who worked as a sleeping-car attendant for Canadian Pacific Railways. ==Music and recording==

A Jazz.com review notes that the title track, "Night Train," is evidence of Peterson's ability to balance musical innovation with popular appeal, as demonstrated throughout the album: "By using the basic elements of crescendo and diminuendo, and arranged sections to set off the parts, Peterson turns what could have been a throwaway into a minor masterpiece." Peterson named the new song "Hymn to Freedom" in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., and after Harriette Hamilton wrote accompanying lyrics a year later, it became an unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. "Hymn to Freedom" is featured prominently in the 2021 documentary Oscar Peterson: Black + White as part of Peterson’s enduring legacy. Hymn to Freedom has been reinterpreted, in a jazz version, by Oliver Jones (piano), who is considered a disciple of Oscar Peterson; he described it as "A class act" album with changes to tempo, rhythm and structure and notable piano virtuosity. They played live together on 2004. Ben Webster (tenor sax) played it in "At ease" album hereby in an intimate version with extensive use of subtone. On the 1997 CD reissue, an alternate take of "Night Train" is titled "Happy Go Lucky Local," the name of the 1946 Duke Ellington composition that is the basis of Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train." The alternate take features the same arrangement as the master take. Ed Thigpen's rivet cymbal, recorded at very close range, is prominent on all issues of the album. ==Critical reception==

}} For AllMusic, critic John Bush wrote that the release "includes stately covers of blues and R&B standards". The Penguin Guide to Jazz included it in its core collection, calling it “one of the best-constructed long-players of the period" and saying that Peterson's playing is "tight and uncharacteristically emotional". ==Influence==

Diana Krall reported that listening to the album made being a jazz pianist her ambition. == Track listing ==

(Tracks 12 through 17 are CD bonus tracks, not included on the original vinyl LP) == Personnel ==

• Oscar Peterson - piano • Ray Brown - double bass • Ed Thigpen - drums Technical personnel • Norman Granz – production • Val Valentin – recording engineering • Pete Turner – cover photography • Benny Green - sleeve notes == References ==