Oscar Peterson & Count Basie—”Jumpin’ At The Woodside” (1980)

”Jumpin’ At The Woodside” was a 1937 composition by Texan trombonist/guitarist Eddie Durham (1906-1987). The head arrangement was refined by Count Basie. When Basie’s band recorded it in 1938, Durham had already left the band, but his composition became Basie’s signature tune for years to come and is a favorite with many big bands. Here it is as a piano duet.

The musicians gathered at the BBC 1 studio in England were an international group of virtuosi. 40 Years ago this month, American pianist Count Basie was the guest in a program of a Canadian pianist who was twenty years his junior “Oscar Peterson: Words and Music.” It was broadcasted on Thursday November 27, 1980 at 10:00 P.M. The other members of Peterson’s trio were Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson and British drummer Martin Drew.

”Jumpin’ At The Woodside” was named after a respectable Harlem hotel that was a popular hangout for jazz musicians. The Woodside was located on Seventh Avenue and 142nd Street, and was the property of an African-American entrepreneur called Love B. Woods.