TOP Laureate Oscar Peterson

The 11th

Laureate

Music

Oscar Peterson

In a succession of celebrated line-ups,the Oscar Peterson Trio has produced a steady and brilliant stream of recordings,live concerts,and television broadcasts since the 1950s. The essence of Peterson’s technique is the generation of a musical energy infused with a sense of swing. Bouncing off the other musicians,he builds solos of immense virtuosity and wild invention,without ever sacrificing the melodic line. Peterson worked with all the jazz greats – Louis Armstrong,Coleman Hawkins,Lester Young – and has overcome both a stroke and arthritis to continue playing to this day. His original compositions include the celebrated Canadiana Suite of 1963 and the Hymn to Freedom,which became one of the crusade hymns of the Civil Rights Movement.

Biography

‘If I go for something,I go the whole way.’ (Oscar Peterson)
It is a remarkable facet of Oscar Peterson’s fame that jazz fans the world over feel they have a personal relationship with him. To British audiences,for example,he was one of the first jazz musicians to communicate successfully on television. In the BBC TV series Piano Party,which he presented during the mid-1970s,his large and congenial presence opened up jazz music in an astonishing way. Viewers had the opportunity to engage with the person,gain a deeper understanding of the music,and marvel at a flawless technique and inventive brilliance. This is symptomatic of Peterson’s general openness to new approaches,even new technologies,that continues to the present day. His official website contains an ongoing personal diary,and is more than simply an exercise in self-promotion. He has branched out into electronic music and has created a studio at his home in Montreal.
     The roots of Peterson’s technique are a combination of classical training with the influence of pianists such as Earl Hines and in particular Art Tatum,with whom he has often been compared. It was partly due to witnessing Tatum’s phenomenal technique that Peterson was driven to perfect his own skills. His big hands enabled extremely rapid left hand changes and seemingly effortless runs and arpeggios in the right hand,as well as some exciting leaps and ways of breaking up melodic line. Although his characteristic sound contains thick,rich chords,it is his approach to line that has produced the most appreciation,both positive and negative. At their best,Peterson’s melodic lines have a fascinating and elegant approach to phrasing,and a speed and lucidity of harmonic implication which is simply dazzling. It is perhaps a mark of how close to the improvisatory ‘edge’ they come,that on occasion the decorative aspect of the lines has been criticised disrupting the structure of the song.
     Peterson’s best work has often been done in a trio context,where he has the greatest opportunity for personal expression and creativity. The celebrated Oscar Peterson Trio recorded and performed countless concerts and albums from the 1950s onwards. The classic line-up,formed in 1953 with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass,was reunited in 1990 for an emotional concert at the Blue Note,New York,but the trio went through several changes in personnel in the intervening years. This included the substitution of drummer Ed Thigpen for Ellis from 1958–65,and new partners such Danish bassist Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson and American guitarist Joe Pass during the 1970s. The secret of Peterson’s musical success in all of these trios was the generation of a musical energy infused with a sense of swing. Bouncing off the other musicians,Peterson would build solos towards large climactic right-hand chords and intervals that moved slowly relative to the more rapid passages either side. Another familiar stylistic trick was double-handed tremolos – rapid ‘rolled’ chords that create a sense of tension and excitement. There are so many recordings of Peterson in this vein that it is hard to single out one album,but Night Train,1963,is generally regarded as a classic.
     Ever since his surprise debut at Carnegie Hall in 1949,Peterson has been managed by the impresario Norman Ganz. This has led to many fruitful concerts and collaborations,including work with orchestras,various ensembles and vocal groups. In addition,Peterson has released hundreds of albums,either through Ganz’s labels or on the MPS label and its producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer,for whom he made some of his finest recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Peterson’s original compositions include the celebrated Canadiana Suite,1963,and the Hymn to Freedom,which became one of the crusade hymns of the Civil Rights Movement. When Peterson played with the Johnny Holmes Dance Orchestra in the 1940s,he encountered racial prejudice as the only black member of the band. In 2001,his musicianship has conquered the world,and he has made his contribution to ending the kind of attitudes which blighted the lives of many young dance and jazz musicians. In the interim,he has worked with most of the jazz greats,including Louis Armstrong,Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young,and has overcome both a stroke and arthritis to continue playing right up to the present day.
 Andrew Hugill
 
 
He passed away on December 23,2007, Tront Canada

Chronology

1925
Born August 15,Montreal,Canada.
Introduced to music by his father Daniel,a Canadian Pacific Railway porter who leaned to play piano on his own.
Wins CBC National Amateur Contest at age 14.
1942
Joined the Johnny Holmes Orchestra playing dance music in and around the Montreal area with Maynard and Percy Ferguson,Nick Ayoub and Al Baculis.
1947
Oscar Peterson Trio formed at the Alberta Lounge in Montreal,with Ozzie Roberts (bass) and Clarence Jones (drums),who was later replaced by Benjamin Johnson (guitar).
1949
Makes surprise guest debut at Carnegie Hall during Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic.
1949-50
Forms trio with Ray Brown (bass) and Herb Ellis (guitar). Tours and records constantly.
1950-55
Voted best pianist in the Down Beat magazine reader polls and meets Art Tatum.
1952
Oscar Peterson Trio tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic in North America and Europe
1953
Debuts in Japan
1958 Herb Ellis replaced by drummer Ed Thigpen
1960
Opens the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto,Ontario.
1963
Night Train
1964
Canadiana Suite
1965
Oscar Peterson Trio makes classic recordings for Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer
1966
Ed Thigpen retires. New versions of the Oscar Peterson Trio emerge with first Louis Hayes,then Bobby Durham,replacing Ed Thigpen on drums and Sam Jones eventually taking over bass for Ray Brown.
1967-70
Oscar continues to record with Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer,and releases fifteen albums including an orchestral accompaniment,two solo releases and a quartet including Bobby Durham,Sam Jones and Herb Ellis on guitar.
1972
Made Officer of the Order of Canada.
New Trio includes Joe Pass on guitar and Niels Pederson on bass tours Russia and elsewhere
1975
BBC TV series 'Piano Party'
1984
Easter Suite
Made Companion in the Order of Canada
1999
Awarded the Praemium Imperiale Prize for Music,Japan Art Association,Tokyo
2007
Died December 23,Tront Canada
  • Oscar Peterson with Count Basie

  • With Ella Fitzgerald

  • With Dizzie Gillaspie

  • Oscar Peterson with his father Daniel

  • At his home

  • At his home

Oscar Peterson with Count Basie
©BBC

With Ella Fitzgerald

With Dizzie Gillaspie
©CTV

Oscar Peterson with his father Daniel
©canadian pacific archives

At his home
©The Sankei Shimbun

At his home
©The Sankei Shimbun