Louis Alter's "You Turned the Tables on Me" is given a medium-swing treatment on Anita O'Day's 1957 Verve album Anita Sings the Most, with Oscar Peterson delivering a half-chorus piano solo over the 32-bar AB form at 117 beats per minute in C major. Peterson's solo, though brief, demonstrates the concentration of musical ideas he could achieve in a short space, his lines weaving through the changes with characteristic harmonic sophistication and rhythmic drive. The song, composed in 1936 with lyrics by Sidney Mitchell, was popularized by Benny Goodman's orchestra and later became a favorite of jazz vocalists. O'Day's approach to the material balances respect for the melody with the improvisational freedom that distinguished her from more conventional pop singers of the era. The medium tempo provides an ideal framework for the interplay between voice and piano, each artist finding space to contribute without crowding the other. Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and John Poole on drums maintain a relaxed but alert swing feel throughout. Anita Sings the Most remains one of the finest vocal-with-rhythm-section albums in jazz, and this track exemplifies the natural musical rapport that made the session so successful.
