Oscar Peterson Trio – The Berlin Concert (DTS DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Concert: B-

 

 

 

The Oscar Peterson Trio is one of the most respected in Jazz and you can see and hear why anytime they show up.  Unfortunately for fans, that is not enough.  They previously did surface in one of the many fine releases in the Norman Granz series Eagle released to DVD a few years ago as follows at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1547/Norman+Granz'+Jazz+In+Montreux+series+(DVD-Video)

 

 

Fortunately, Inakustik has issued a complete DVD of them taped June 2, 1985 (eight years after the other DVD) as part of their Berlin Concert series.  Running 80 minutes, there are 10 songs here including:

 

1)     Salute To Bach

2)     Who Can I Turn To

3)     Blues Etude

4)     Yours Is My Heart Alone

5)     Falling In Love With La Belle Province

6)     Nigerian Marketplace

7)     Cakewalk

8)     Skylark – My Foolish Heart

9)     Perdido

10)  Caravan

 

 

The 1977 concert has a special energy that this one does not, yet this one is smoother.  Ultimately, they are on par with each other, so fans of the genre and the Trio will want to get both.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image was shot on analog video (NTSC or PAL) and shows its age, but it is not as harsh or bleeding as we have seen some other materials from the time.  This is a little sharper than the 1977 taping.  The sound is here in PCM 2.0 16/48 Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 sound, all sounding good for their age, but offering compression that should be expected from an older such taping.  The PCM is the best option for fidelity, but the 5.1s are passable.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo