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Verve's Finest Hour collection of Oscar Peterson's work compiles 60 minutes of career highlights, including "The Astaire Blues," "Work Song," "Young and Foolish," and "Tenderly." Though it's by no means a definitive compilation of Peterson's music, it does provide a worthwhile overview of some of his best moments.

Heather Phares - All Music Guide



Like his models Art Tatum and Nat "King" Cole, Oscar Peterson has always played with a combination of elegance and energy, a compound of crisp articulation and compulsive momentum that has made him the most popular pianist in jazz. It shows up on the earliest of his Verve recordings, like the tributes to Erroll Garner and Fred Astaire from the early 1950s that begin this selection, and it continues throughout the CD to 1964. The same attention to detail and swing shows up in his choice of accompanists. The consummate bassist Ray Brown was a constant associate in this period, and the guitarists Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis each added a light touch and propulsive swing as a member of Peterson's early trios. While Peterson's fame will always rest on his titanic technique and big-band-like swing, he has also been one of the great accompanists in jazz. Those skills emerge in the collaborations here, such as the bluesy "Work Song" with vibraphonist Milt Jackson and "Mumbles," trumpeter Clark Terry's first recording of his comically garbled scat vocals.

Stuart Broomer - Amazon.com



Many consider him the world's greatest jazz pianist. But whatever you feel about Oscar Peterson, it's impossible not to recognize his superhuman-like technical abilities, assets that allow him to pull off any musical idea that comes to mind. Peterson's virtuosity is on grand display throughout this set, which gleans terrific tracks from his prime years with Verve and other Norman Granz-related record labels. With such superior sidemen as bassist Ray Brown, drummer Ed Thigpen, and guitarists Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis swinging behind him, Peterson turns on the juice and lets loose.His exuberant solos on such performances as "The Astaire Blues," "Work Song," "Sometimes I'm Happy", and are as accomplished as jazz piano gets, while tracks like "Young and Foolish" "Mumbles," and "Tenderly" display Peterson's more bluesier and lyrical side.

William Pearl - Barnes & Noble