<back - OSCAR PETERSON - Oscar Peterson is considered one of the greatest piano players of all time. A pianist with phenomenal technique on the level of his idol, Art Tatum, Peterson's speed, dexterity and ability to swing at any tempo have long been amazing. Very effective in small groups, jam sessions and in accompanying singers, O.P. is at his absolute best when performing unaccompanied solos. His original style does not fall into any specific idiom. Like Erroll Garner, Peterson's distinctive playing formed during the mid-to-late 1940's and fell somewhere between Swing and Bop. Oscar Peterson started classical piano lessons when he was 6 and developed quickly.

After winning a talent show at 14, he began starring on a weekly radio show in Montreal. Peterson picked up experience as a teenager playing with Johnny Holmes Orchestra. From 1945-49, he recorded 32 cuts for Victor in Montreal. Those trio performances find Peterson displaying a love for boogie-woogie, which he would soon discard, and the swing style of Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole. Norman Granz discovered Peterson in 1949 and soon presented him on JATP aka Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Oscar Peterson was recorded in 1950 on a series of duets with either Ray Brown or Major Holley on bass; his version of 'Tenderly' became a hit. Peterson's talents were quite obvious, and he became a household name in 1952 when he formed a trio with guitarist Barney Kessel and Ray Brown. Kessel tired of the road and was replaced by Herb Ellis the following year. The Peterson-Ellis-Brown Trio, which often toured with JATP, was one of Jazz's great combos from 1953-58. In 1958, when Ellis left the band, it was decided that no other guitarist could fill in so well, and he was replaced by drummer Ed Thigpen. In 1960, Oscar Peterson established the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, which lasted for 3 years. He made his first recorded set of unaccompanied piano solos in 1968 during his highly rated series of MPS recordings. With the formation of the Pablo label by Granz in 1972, Peterson was often teamed with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels Pedersen. He appeared on dozens of all-star records, made 5 duet albums with top trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Clark Terry, and Count Basie. An underrated composer, Peterson wrote and recorded the impressive 'Canadiana Suite' in 1964. One of his rare vocal sessions in 1965, With Respect to Nat, reveals that Peterson's singing voice was nearly identical to Nat King Cole. Also his arrangements and recording in 1962 of 'Westside Story' earn Peterson a Grammy nomination.  He was felled by a serious stroke in 1993 that took him out for 2 years. Since, he has gradually returned to the scene. In 1997 he received the Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. MP3- TENDERLY