Click for audio sample
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was born August 15, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is widely known throughout the world for his piano playing prowess and Jazz technique. Most people admire him and honor him as being one of the best Jazz pianists of all time for his speed, dexterity, and ability to swing at any tempo.
Oscar specialized in the areas of bop and swing and idolized Art Tatum. His playing developed in the mid- to late-1940's and is known for his use of many notes in his playing. A comparison of Peterson's playing and other pianists of his time show this quite well. Peterson started playing classical piano at age 6 and after winning a talent show at 14 he began starring on a weekly radio show in Montreal. Oscar's early influences were in boogie-woogie and then got hit by the bug of bop.
Peterson had already become well-known by the early 1950's after his version of "Tenderly" hit it big and he formed his first trio with guitarist Barney Kessel and Ray Brown on bass. Kessel was later replaced by Herb Ellis. This new combo toured and became quite famous during the mid-1950's.
Peterson took his love for Jazz and found a way to support it through the establishment of the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto in 1960. Unfortunately, this school lasted for only three years.
He then went back to recording and composing. He went on to record with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry, and Jon Faddis. He also played with Count Basie on a few two-piano performances. His composing was showcased on the monumental 1964 "Canadiana Suite".
Oscar Peterson has recorded close to two hundred albums for various labels including Verve (95 albums), Pablo (44 albums), Original Jazz Classics (15 albums), Clef (14 albums), Telarc (11 albums), Prestige (9 albums), and Polygram (9 albums).
Peterson had a stroke in 1993 which sidelined him for a few years and also weakened his left hand. Even though he's not back to the form he was before the stroke, he still remains a great pianist and a leader in the scene today.
Return to: Jazz: Armstrong Forward
