It’s interesting to see Peterson accompany the man whose piano was obviously a very strong influence on his own. Cole was the first to perfect the technique with which Peterson wrought much of his magic: “conducting” his trio with right hand riffs to “stabilize” the tune and convey his sense of tempo and dynamics to the other musicians.

Cole was no slouch as an acompanist himself. Of course, it certainly helped that most of the time, he was comping one of the great jazz vocalists of all time: himself.

Frank Sinatra once invited the Oscar Peterson Trio to perform at a party at his house. No idea whether the Chairman actually sang with the trio, but either way it is an utter travesty that no one had the foresight to smuggle in a tape recorder…. In the same vein, I’ve always thought it’s a shame that no one at Capitol thought to have Frank and Nat record together in the mid to late ’50s, when they were both with the label and both at the peak of their abilities.