Oscar Peterson: an attractive jazz stage personality
Saturday, December 29th, 2007In memoriam: Oscar Emmanuel Peterson died at 82 in his home at Toronto, Canada on December 23rd. Peterson died due to a kidney failure.
Who was Oscar Peterson?
Oscar Peterson was born on August 15th in Montreal, Canada. Blessed with an attractive stage personality, this behemoth of mainstream jazz’s fluid technique was influenced by Art Tatum, Erroll Garner and, later, George Shearing. After studying trumpet, illness redirected him to the piano. His enthusiasm resulted in endless hours of practise which helped mould his remarkable technique.
In his mid-teens, after winning a local talent contest in 1940, Peterson was heard regularly on radio in Canada and beyond. By 1944, he was the featured pianist with the nationally famous Johnny Holmes Orchestra before leaving his own trio. Oscar Peterson was unusual in not serving an apprenticeship as an older player’s sideman. Although early recordings were dissapointing, he received lucrative offers to appear in the USA but these were resisted until a debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic in September 1949.
Oscar Peterson played with the greatest jazz anthems!
Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Zoot Sims, Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Getz have been among Peterson’s collaborators during a career that has encompassed hundreds of studio and concert recording.
With 1963’s Affinity as his biggest seller, Peterson’s output has ranged from albums drawn from the songbooks of Cole Porter and Duke Ellington.
Since 1970, he has worked with no fixed group, often performing alone, although at the end of the 70’s Peterson had a long stint with bass player Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen which continued well into the 80’s.
Dazzling techniques and unflagging swing
Peterson’s dazzling techniques and unflagging swing have helped make him one of the most highly regarded and instantly identifiable pianists in jazz. The high standard of his work over the years is testimony to his dedication and to the care which he and his mentor, Granz, have exercised over the pianist’s career.