Oscar Peterson grew up in the harsh streets of
Petite-Bourgogne, Montreal which at the time was an area filled with drugs, violence and poverty (the area is also known as Little Burgundy). It was in this predominantly black neighborhood that he found himself surrounded by the jazz culture which flourished in the early 20th century. At a time when racial tensions had their grip on America, La
Petite-Bourgogne was known as a haven for many wonderful African-American artists. Thus, it was here that Oscar began honing his skills with the
trumpet and
piano which he started at the age of five. However, by the age of seven, after a bout of
tuberculosis, he directed all his attention to the piano. Some of the artists who influenced Peterson during the early years were
Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson and the legendary
Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years. In fact, one of his first exposures to the musical talents of Art Tatum came early in his teen years when his father played Art Tatum's
Tiger Rag for him, and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he allegedly restrained himself from touching the piano for nearly two months.
Peterson has also credited his sister
Daisy, a noted
piano teacher in Montreal who also taught several other noted Canadian jazz musicians, with being an important teacher and influence on his career.
He soon developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive
jazz pianist, and became a regular on
Canadian radio. His United States introduction was at
Carnegie Hall, New York City in
1949 by
Norman Granz; owing to union restrictions his appearance could not be billed.
An important step in his career was joining
impresario Norman Granz's labels (especially
Verve records) and Granz's
Jazz at the Philharmonic package. Granz discovered Peterson in a peculiar manner: as the impresario was being taken to the Montréal airport by cab, the radio was playing a live broadcast of Oscar Peterson at a local night club. He was so smitten by what he heard that he ordered the driver to take him to the club so he could meet the pianist. So was born a lasting relationship, and Granz remained Peterson's manager for much of the latter's career. Through Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic he was able to play with the major jazz artists of the time: some of his musical associates have included
Ray Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Armstrong, Stéphane Grappelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Anita O'Day, Fred Astaire, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and
Stan Getz.
In the early 1950s Peterson began performing with
Ray Brown and Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward the drummer Smith was replaced by guitarist
Irving Ashby, formerly of the
Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by
Barney Kessel. Kessel tired of touring after a year, and was replaced by
Herb Ellis. When Ellis left the group in 1958, Peterson and Brown believed that Ellis could not be replaced adequately, and the trio added a drummer, at first
Gene Gammage for a brief time, then
Ed Thigpen. In this group Peterson became the dominant soloist. Later members of the group were
Louis Hayes, Bobby Durham, Ray Price, Sam Jones, and
George Mraz.
Some cognoscenti assert that Peterson's best recordings were made for the
MPS label in the late sixties and early seventies. For some years subsequently he recorded for Granz's
Pablo Records after the label was founded in
1973 and in more recent years for the
Telarc label.
Probably his best known composition is "Canadiana Suite."
In
1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. However he has overcome this setback and is today still working on a limited basis. In
1997 he received a
Grammy for
Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award, proof that Oscar Peterson is still regarded as one of the greatest jazz musicians ever to play.
In 2003, Peterson recorded a DVD 'A Night in Vienna' for the
Verve label, which clearly shows that Peterson's age limits his technical prowess. Even so, his playing has lost but little of its charm, and he still tours the US and Europe, though maximally one month a year, with a couple of days rest between concerts to recover his strength. His accompaniment consists of
Ulf Wakenius (guitar),
David Young (bass) and
Alvin Queen (drums), all leaders of their own groups.
Recently, he had to cancel his performance at the 2007 Toronto Jazz Festival, and his attendance to a June 8th Carnegie Hall all-star performance in his honour, due to illness.
