Oscar Peterson, 82

[afro poppa]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071224.wobpeterson1224/BNStory/Entertainment/home

[ersh]

indeed

[bouche]

i didn't know that he was still alive. what's going to happen once all of these jazz greats are gone?

Oliver Jones is another canadian that I've always loved to listen to, but I think he retired from playing due to arthritis.

[hamilton]

Sad. I had the chance to see him once when I was in university, and he was really good! I only have a few of his albums, but Night Train is particularly noteworthy.

[timouse]

sad indeed. the world has lost another class act.

RIP Oscar.

[Jaimoe]

McCoy Tyner is the only other jazz piano great left from Oscar's era. See him while you can. RIP Oscar the great.

[bradm]

McCoy Tyner is the only other jazz piano great left from Oscar's era.

What about Dave Brubeck?

Aloha,

Brad

[Jaimoe]

McCoy Tyner is the only other jazz piano great left from Oscar's era.

What about Dave Brubeck?

Aloha' date='

Brad[/quote']

I thought about Brubeck, but he's even older and doesn't have their chops.

[deranger]

very very sad, Oscar Peterson was one of the first jazz players I listened to that got me into jazz in the first place. Such awesome style and talent.

Oscar, you will be missed greatly.

[shainhouse]

I met him a few times. wonderful man. RIP.

[Esau.]

I thought about Brubeck, but he's even older and doesn't have their chops.

I can't speak for who has the "chops" or not because I'm no jazz authority only a mild fan/admirer of select pieces, but looking at Brubeck's accomplishements, I'd say he must have something going for him.

As for same era, Brubeck is only five years older the Oscar was, and if thats not considered the same era then how is Tyner? Considering he is thirteen years Oscar's junior. Personally, I'd say Brubeck and Oscar are the same era, as much as Tyner and Jarret are. I'm sure I'll be corrected though.

[paisley]

heard this the other night... a truly amazing musician, one of my early favorites

rest in peace Oscar

[Jaimoe]

Tons of accolades and tributes are still pouring in for Oscar, but I particularly love this one from Herbie Hancock:

"Oscar Peterson redefined swing for modern jazz pianists for the latter half of the 20th century up until today. I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. He mastered the balance between technique, hard blues grooving, and tenderness ... No one will ever be able to take his place."

[Jaimoe]

I really like this article in today's Toronto Star:

In the key of Oscar

Dec 26, 2007

Ashante Infantry

Pop & Jazz Critic

Throughout his lifetime, Oscar Peterson's contribution to the jazz pantheon was properly recognized, but failing health caused the legendary player to miss a special tribute earlier this year.

On June 8, a multi-generational lineup of jazz greats, including trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and pianists Marian McPartland and Hank Jones, celebrated the "master of swing" at New York's Carnegie Hall where his 1949 debut catapulted him onto the international stage.

By the time the musicians arrived for a sound check at the venerable concert theatre that Friday afternoon, a poster size photo of Peterson stage right of the piano confirmed what had been rumoured, that he would not attend as expected due to illness.

As the musicians – 21 deans and up-and-comers – waited for their turn to run through songs composed or popularized by Peterson, the words "genius" and "inspiration" peppered their conversations.

"We're part of that Peterson legacy," said bassist Christian McBride, 35, rueful about another missed opportunity to meet the musical icon.

Trumpeter Clark Terry who had known Peterson since the early '50s and is godfather to his youngest child, Celine, credited O.P. – as the nonpareil tunesmith was known among peers – for letting him debut his trademark nonsense singing "Mumbles" on Peterson's 1964 recording Oscar Trio Plus One.

"With all respect to all the great pianists in the world, he is No. 1," said Terry, 87. "Whether it's a ballad, or swinging, or jumping, he knows how to make you feel lifted. And like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, he is a great accompanist to a soloist."

Saskatchewan native Renee Rosnes, 45, was the only Canadian on the bill. "For me, he is state of the art in music excellence and where he has taken jazz piano," said the performer who chose to play "Ballad of the East" from Peterson's well-known Canadiana Suite.

"I just gravitated toward the piece," she said. "It has a beautiful melody and shows his more tender side. It's a special recording as composition, then as a tribute to the country where I'm from."

The 90-minute concert, which took place before a near-capacity crowd of 2,700 – with Peterson's wife, Kelly, (occasionally wiping tears) and daughter, Celine, watching from the second balcony – was organized like the popular concert series known as Jazz at the Philharmonic which brought Peterson to the fore 58 years ago.

Though he performed at Carnegie Hall more than 30 times – the final in 1999 – his first appearance, on Sept. 17, 1949, was legendary because impresario Norman Granz pretended to spontaneously invite the 24-year-old unknown from the audience to sit in, though he'd brought Peterson from Montreal for that very purpose.

Accompanied by bassist Ray Brown – with whom he and guitarist Herb Ellis later formed a distinguished trio – on tunes such as "Tenderly" and "Fine and Dandy," Peterson dazzled the crowd and was invited to stay for the remainder of the set.

The following day, a Canadian newspaper headline declared: "Oscar sets New York on its heels!"

In his 2002 bio, A Jazz Odyssey: My Life in Jazz, Peterson recalled being welcomed back to Montreal "with congratulatory abandon."

[The Chameleon]

Huge loss for Canada and Jazz. Oscar was a true original and a master of the genre.

I had the wonderful privelage of attending private workshops and lectures with him in the late 90's when I was studying jazz at York U and he was an adjunct prof.

Not only was he a killer player but he was a kind and giving man who believed it was his duty as a jazz elder to pass along the wisdom to the younger generation.

I am thrilled to have known him briefly and to have had to opportunity to see him play.

[The Chameleon]

McCoy Tyner is the only other jazz piano great left from Oscar's era.

What about Dave Brubeck?

Aloha' date='

Brad[/quote']

I thought about Brubeck, but he's even older and doesn't have their chops.

I would submit that Randy Weston and Ahmad Jamal are of Oscar's generation and caliber.

[Jaimoe]

So, I went for a walk tonight on my lunch break down to the Roy Thompson Hall area of Toronto in quest to touch Oscar Peterson's plaque on The Toronto Walk of Fame. I checked every plaque. I danced on Toler Cranston, spat on Pam Anderson, stomped on Diana Krall, got a little angry while regarding the merits of fully integrated Americanized Canadians being honoured: Paul Shaffer, Rich Little, Monty Hall, Robert Goulet, William Shatner and Jack Warner.

But no Oscar Peterson. Oscar Peterson! I thought he was an early inductee. Shirley this is an oversight for this proud Canadian, Mississauga resident and national icon. Stars don't buy their way onto the sidewalk a la The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Oscar should have been one of the first choices in the inaugural year in 1998, hounoured right next to Glen Gould, Pierre Berton and Bobby fucking Orr. Why not make room for Oscar by removing one or both of two other 1998 inductees Bryan Adams and Jacques Villeneuve? This is disgraceful, I tell you what.

[afro poppa]

So, I went for a walk tonight on my lunch break down to the Roy Thompson Hall area of Toronto in quest to touch Oscar Peterson's plaque on The Toronto Walk of Fame. I checked every plaque. I danced on Toler Cranston, spat on Pam Anderson, stomped on Diana Krall, got a little angry while regarding the merits of fully integrated Americanized Canadians being honoured: Paul Shaffer, Rich Little, Monty Hall, Robert Goulet, William Shatner and Jack Warner.

But no Oscar Peterson. Oscar Peterson! I thought he was an early inductee. Shirley this is an oversight for this proud Canadian, Mississauga resident and national icon. Stars don't buy their way onto the sidewalk a la The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Oscar should have been one of the first choices in the inaugural year in 1998, hounoured right next to Glen Gould, Pierre Berton and Bobby fucking Orr. Why not make room for Oscar by removing one or both of two other 1998 inductees Bryan Adams and Jacques Villeneuve? This is disgraceful, I tell you what.

word.

maybe they'll give him one now that hes passed??

[Velvet]

I heard Oscar tell the story of how when he was fifteen or so he told his dad he wanted to quit school to play the piano. His dad told him, "I can't let me son quit school to be a piano player, but I can let him quit school if he's gonna be the best piano player in the world. Now you decide."

Oscar was the first jazz artist I truly loved - he allowed me to get it and started me on my jazz journey. I am truly saddened by his passing.

[bradm]

According to

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/01/02/4748958-cp.html

A free concert will be held at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall on Saturday, Jan. 12 to celebrate the life of Oscar Peterson.

Aloha,

Brad

[Kanada Kev]

Another great is now gone. Be thankful we still have all the recordings to relive and discover. I was lucky too and got to see him perform. Even after his stroke, and the limitations it gave him, I heard him once perform with essentially one hand ... it was BEAUTIFUL.

Got this in my CBC email yesterday:

About Oscar…To honour the memory of jazz great Oscar Peterson, Tonic presents About Oscar, the award-winning eight-part documentary series. It begins today, Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. (6:30 NT), on CBC Radio 2.

If you miss any of the parts, i'm sure they'll be up as podcasts/downloads:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/blog/2008/01/02/oscar_peterson_docum_1.html

BTW, his Christmas album is one of my favourites (along with Mel Torme's):

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/reviews/r1202_124.htm