When it comes to jazz pianists, Oscar Peterson has to be pretty far up on the list of greats. At one point in time he created a suite of music, telling the Easter story. The composition debuted in a BBC show in 1984. This Blu-Ray is the recording of that show. Now, if you are, perhaps, put off by the religious element of this, rest assured, this is some amazing jazz music that was inspired by the story, not ruled by it. If you don’t pay attention to that aspect of it, you will not really know it. What you get is a powerful and intriguing jazz performance by some talented musicians. It’s all capture with style and solid video and audio recording. Mind you, it’s from the 1980s, so perhaps not up to modern standards, but it was filmed for broadcast on the BBC, so you know it’s good. There is one bonus feature here, and that’s an interview with Peterson where he goes into the whole process of composing the music that’s presented here.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.