Showing posts with label Oscar Peterson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar Peterson. Show all posts
February 2, 2026
March 23, 2024
Barney Kessell, articles/mentions
Janis Joplin / Full Tilt Boogie Band ~ Pearl
Julie London ~ Cry Me a River
date & photographer unknown
May 5, 2020
Herbie Hancock article/mentions
~
Herbie Hancock ~ Death Wish
mentions:
Patrick Gleeson ~ Star Wars
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
Herbie Hancock - 1968
photo by Jack Robinson
March 7, 2020
April 24, 2018
August 29, 2017
August 19, 2017
Ray Brown articles/mentions
August 18, 2017
August 17, 2017
Herb Ellis articles/mentions
Verve Records & Norman Granz
Oscar Peterson ~
Maharaja of the keyboard
Herb Ellis ~ Ellis in Wonderland
vinyl LP album cover
cover photo photographer unknown
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Count Basie articles/mentions
~
Sweets Ballroom ~
Count Basie - 1945
photographer unknown
Associated Press
August 16, 2017
Art Tatum articles/mentions
~
William P. Gottlieb: Jazz photographer
Verve Records & Norman Granz
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
Art Tatum (1946 - 1948)
Vogue Room, New York
photographer unknown
Duke Ellington articles/mentions
Enoch Light ~ Musical Explorations In Sound
Gil Mellé – The Andromeda Strain
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
The Platters ~ Only You (And You Alone)
Max Roach
Jack Scott and the birth of Stereo
Sweets ~ Jitterbugging in the Forties
Duke Ellington
publicity photo
Gil Mellé – The Andromeda Strain
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
The Platters ~ Only You (And You Alone)
Max Roach
Jack Scott and the birth of Stereo
Sweets ~ Jitterbugging in the Forties
Duke Ellington
publicity photo
August 15, 2017
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
- 1977
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.
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.
(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
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)
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'
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
~
Styrous® ~ Thursday, August 15, 2017
August 12, 2017
Norman Granz articles/mentions
July 30, 2017
Louis Armstrong articles/mentions
Trumpeter & scat singer extraordinaire
High Society & Grace Kelly
Louis Armstrong
photographer unknown
mentions:
The Ray Charles Singers
Chrisma ~ Chinese Restaurant
Fats Domino ~ I'm Walkin'
Al Jarreau ~ Breakin' Away & scat
William P. Gottlieb ~ Jazz photographer
Norman Granz & Verve Records
Oscar Peterson ~ Maharaja of the keyboard
The Threepenny Opera & Lotte Lenya
Carl Van Vechten & the Harlem Renaissance
July 8, 2017
June 15, 2017
Ella Fitzgerald ~ Queen of Jazz
April 25, 1917
~
June 15, 1996
Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer often referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella.
Ella Fitzgerald with President Ronald Reagan - 1981
Tim Hauser, Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul,
Janis Siegel & Ella Fitzgerald
Grammy Awards, Los Angeles - 1983
Chicago - November 20, 1979
Ella Fitzgerald - 1960
photo by Erling Mandelmann
Ella Fitzgerald - 1960
photo by Carl Van Vechten
Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald - circa 1955
Ella Fitzgerald, Vienna, - February 1954
Roy Eldridge & Max Roach
Stockholm, Sweden - 1952
Ella Fitzgerald with Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown,
Milt Jackson & Timme Rosenkrantz
New York - September 1947
Milt Jackson & Timme Rosenkrantz
New York - September 1947
Ella Fitzgerald Official Site
The George & Ira Gershwin Song Book Vol. 2
David Gates ~ First
Verve Records ~ the inner sleeve & Norman Granz
Al Jarreau ~ Breakin' Away & scat
Black History Month
Ella Fitzgerald - 1945
Styrous® ~ Thursday, June 15, 2017
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