Oscar Peterson

For the U.S. Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient, see Oscar V. Peterson. For the American carver of fish decoys, see Oscar W. Peterson.

Oscar Peterson
CC CQ OOnt
Peterson in 1977
Peterson in 1977
Background information
Birth nameOscar Emmanuel Peterson
Born(1925-08-15)August 15, 1925
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedDecember 23, 2007(2007-12-23) (aged 82)
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Piano
  • synthesizer
Years active1945–2007
Labels
Websiteoscarpeterson.com

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson CC CQ OOnt (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007)[1] was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. Considered a virtuoso and one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, and received numerous other awards and honours. He played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, simply "O.P." by his friends, and informally in the jazz community, "the King of inside swing".

Peterson worked in duos with Sam Jones, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Joe Pass, Irving Ashby,[2] Count Basie,[3] and Herbie Hancock.[4] He considered the trio with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis "the most stimulating" and productive setting for public performances and studio recordings. In the early 1950s, he began performing with Brown and drummer Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby, who had been a member of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Barney Kessel.[5] Their last recording, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio, recorded live at the Town Tavern in Toronto, captured a remarkable degree of emotional as well as musical understanding among three players.[6]

Peterson won eight Grammy Awards during his lifetime between 1975 and 1997. He is considered among the best jazz pianists and jazz improvisers of the twentieth century.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference death was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Dobbins, Bill; Kernfeld, Barry (2003). "Peterson, Oscar". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.j352400. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Knauer, Wolfram (2013). "Basie, Count". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.a2240170. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. ^ King, Betty Nygaard. "Oscar Peterson". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "A look at Oscar Peterson's career". oscarpeterson.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  6. ^ Nat Hentoff. Co-editor, The Jazz Review.