Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, was born today, August 15, in 1925. He was a Canadian jazz pianist, composer and called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington. He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honours. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists with a career lasting more than 60 years. 




Oscar Peterson - 1977
Webster, New York
photo by Tom Marcello  

      

As a child, Peterson studied with Hungarian-born pianist Paul de Marky, a student of István Thomán. Thomán was a pupil of Franz Liszt, so his training was predominantly based on classical piano. Meanwhile, he was captivated by traditional jazz and learned several ragtime pieces and especially the boogie-woogie. At that time Peterson was called "the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie".

In 1940, at fourteen years of age, Peterson won the national music competition organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After that victory, he dropped out of school and became a professional pianist working for a weekly radio show, and playing at hotels and music halls.

Some of the artists who influenced Peterson's music during the earlier type of years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson and Art Tatum. Tatum and Peterson eventually became good friends, although Peterson was always shy about being compared with Tatum and rarely played the piano in Tatum's presence. Peterson absorbed Tatum's musical influences, notably from piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's harmonizations, as well as direct quotations from his 2nd Piano Concerto, are thrown in here and there in many recordings by Peterson, including his work with the most familiar formulation of the Oscar Peterson Trio, with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis.  

An important step in Peterson's career was joining the impresario Norman Granz labels (especially Verve) (link below) and the Granz "Jazz at the Philharmonic" project (link Below). Granz discovered Peterson in a peculiar manner. As the impresario was being taken to Montreal airport by cab, the radio was playing a live broadcast of Peterson at a local night club. Granz was so smitten by what he heard that he ordered the driver to take him to the club so that he could meet the pianist. In 1949, Granz introduced Peterson at a Carnegie Hall Jazz at the Philharmonic show in New York City. Granz remained Peterson's manager for most of his career.  

Oscar Peterson (Jazz at the Philharmonic) 1957

 

Peterson made numerous duo performances and recordings with bassists Ray Brown, Sam Jones, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, guitarists Joe Pass, Irving Ashby, Herb Ellis, and Barney Kessel, pianists Count Basie, Herbie Hancock, Benny Green, and Oliver Jones, trumpeters Clark Terry and Louis Armstrong, and many other important jazz players. His 1950s duo recordings with Ray Brown mark the formation of one of the longest lasting partnerships in the history of jazz.

According to pianist/educator Mark Eisenman, some of Peterson's best playing was as an understated accompanist to singer Ella Fitzgerald and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

Peterson wrote pieces for piano, for trio, for quartet and for big band. He also wrote several songs, and made recordings as a singer. Probably his best-known compositions are Canadiana Suite and Hymn to Freedom, the latter composed in the 1960s and inspired by the civil rights movement in the United States (links below).      

Herb Ellis with the Oscar Peterson Trio 

Newport, RI - July 1957 

Photo © Ted Williams/CORBIS

 

Peterson had arthritis since his youth, and in later years could hardly button his shirt. Never slender, his weight increased to 125 kg (276 lb), hindering his mobility. He had hip replacement surgery in the early 1990s. Although the surgery was successful, his mobility was still inhibited. Somewhat later, in 1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. Also in 1993 incoming Prime Minister and longtime Peterson fan and friend Jean Chrétien offered Peterson the position of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, but according to Chrétien he declined, citing the health problems from his recent stroke.

After the stroke, Peterson recuperated for about two years. He gradually regained mobility and some control of his left hand. However, his virtuosity was never restored to the original level, and his playing after his stroke relied principally on his right hand. In 1995 he returned to public performances on a limited basis, and also made several live and studio recordings for Telarc. In 1997 he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. Canadian politician, friend, and amateur pianist Bob Rae contends that "a one-handed Oscar was better than just about anyone with two hands".

In 2003, Peterson recorded the DVD A Night in Vienna for Verve, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHØP), Ulf Wakenius and Martin Drew.    

Peterson's health declined rapidly in 2007. He had to cancel his performance at the 2007 Toronto Jazz Festival and his attendance at a June 8, 2007, Carnegie Hall all-star performance in his honour, owing to illness. On December 23, 2007, Peterson died of kidney failure at his home in Mississauga, Ontario.
          
   
     
Viewfinder links:      
    
Oscar Peterson articles/mentions
Jazz at the Philharmonic series        
  
Net links:  
        
Oscar Peterson discography       
CULT #MTL ~ Oscar Peterson’s Montreal (book review)        

LA Times ~ 'Oscar, With Love'        

New York Times obit          
Billboard obit
The Guardian obit     
      

YouTube links:  
        
Oscar Peterson selections       
     Hymn To Freedom
     Canadiana Suite     
     Jazz At The Philharmonic (9:32 minutes)
       Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic (1956)     
                

   

I play as I feel

                   ~ Oscar Peterson

         
 
                    

Styrous® ~ Thursday, August 15, 2017        

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