Oscar Peterson: Birth of a Legend: Historic Carnegie Hall Concerts

by Nic Jones
October 9, 2006

It's probably safe to say that Oscar Peterson has never shown much understanding of restraint in the course of his lengthy career, and indeed it might be argued that his whole approach to the piano has always run the the risk of coming across as the triumph of technique.

Things are a little different on Birth of a Legend. The music was recorded between 1949 and 1953, and during this period, Peterson's characteristically ebullient swing was like the most benevolent ...

Oscar Peterson: Will To Perfection

by Andrew Velez
August 13, 2006

Born in 1925 in Montréal, Canada, to immigrant parents of West Indian origin, it was clear from early on that pianist Oscar Peterson was a musical prodigy. A star attraction in his teens with Johnny Holmes' big band, by age 20 he'd made his first RCA recordings.

During the '50s he joined Norman Granz' Jazz at the Philharmonic. Whether accompanying Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Fred Astaire, Carmen McRae or Anita O'Day, or as a musical partner for the likes of ...

Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra

by Ollie Bivens
December 26, 2004

Recorded in '59 and just reissued on CD, this homage is described by pianist Oscar Peterson as “not only a tribute to Frank Sinatra but also my emotional interpretation of the feeling I get when I hear him." The album was part of a popular five album songbook set of the music of various songwriters and singers, all recorded in the same year.Smartly and very concisely arranged by Peterson, all the tunes on A Jazz Portrait of Frank ...

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

by John Kelman
September 24, 2004

Oscar Peterson Music in the Key of Oscar View Video 2004

With a career now in its seventh decade, Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson has seen some turbulent times, and no more evident is that fact than on Music in the Key of Oscar , which collects a two part television series, originally broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the mid-'90s. Examining Peterson's somewhat meteoric rise as the ebullient torch carrier for Art Tatum, ...

Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Odyssey

by Kyle Simpler
March 8, 2004

...A Jazz Odyssey Oscar Peterson Richard Palmer (Editor) Continuum Books ISBN 0826458076

Anyone who has achieved a certain degree of fame has probably given some consideration to publishing an autobiography. In many cases, it’s usually best if these works never get beyond the thought process, simply because the books would hold little interest to anyone other than loyal fans. There are, however, exceptions; Oscar Peterson, the legendary jazz pianist, definitely ...

Oscar Peterson: Pablo's Prodigal Son

by Derek Taylor
December 29, 2003

The Oscar Peterson Trio, with Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar and/or Ed Thigpen on drums represents one of the most prolific and recognizable rhythm sections in jazz. Under the Verve umbrella they cut sessions easily numbering into the double digits backing a voluminous array of swing and bop heavyweights including Lester Young, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan and a litany of others. They were also a consummate ensemble on their own. It’s natural then ...

Oscar Peterson Trio: Vancouver, 1958

by AAJ Staff
November 16, 2003

Vancouver, 1958, a sequel to last year's Tenderly, documents a live performance toward the end of the lifespan of the early Peterson/Ellis/Brown trio, displaying the same patient warmth, outrageous swing, calculated calm, and lightning flashes that have always been essential to the Peterson sound.Some say Oscar Peterson is just a (highly capable) mechanic, and those would probably be the same folks who dismiss Art Tatum as a technical prodigy without invention. Whatever. You can look at it that ...