(Consolidated Artist Productions)

Pianist Mike Longo’s latest effort is a tribute to piano and jazz great Oscar Peterson. A teenaged Longo saw Peterson and years later and was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of the legendary pianist for six months of intense training. The Mike Longo Trio Celebrates Oscar Peterson Live was recorded live before in John Birks Gillespie Auditorium of the New York City Baha’i Center. Longo is joined by bassist Paul West and drummer Ray Mosca for a lively set. The trio, which hit the stage with no rehearsal, clicks together like a Lego blocks. The trio nicely covers tunes by Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Thelonious Monk, Thad Jones and Clifford Brown to name a few and does it with great chemistry and camaraderie. The recording stands an outstanding homage to Peterson and his lessons, but also as a great documentation of another wonderful live performance in Longo’s storied career.