This recording of "Just You, Just Me" comes from the 1952 session The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio, pairing tenor saxophonist Lester Young with pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel, and bassist Ray Brown. The Jesse Greer standard is taken at a bright swing tempo of around 239 beats per minute, its 32-bar AABA form in E-flat providing a well-known framework for spirited improvisation. Young opens with three choruses on tenor, his effortlessly cool phrasing floating over the driving rhythm section with the relaxed elegance that defined his style. Peterson follows with four expansive choruses, his virtuosic command of the keyboard on full display as he builds from single-line melodies to dense, orchestral passages. Kessel rounds out the solo sequence with three choruses of electric guitar, his fleet bebop lines and warm tone complementing the other soloists. The tune had been a jazz standard since its introduction in the 1929 film Marianne, and Young's approach reflects decades of familiarity with this kind of material, his improvisations unfolding with the naturalness of conversation. The Oscar Peterson Trio was at the height of its powers during this period, and the interplay among Peterson, Kessel, and Brown provides Young with a rhythmically vital and harmonically rich cushion that inspires some of his most buoyant playing on the album.
