The Incredible Influence of Oscar Peterson
Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson had an illustrious career in his 82 years of life. He is considered one of the best jazz pianists of all time, and for good reason! He released over 200 recordings and won eight Grammy Awards, and that’s not even the half of it. Get to know Oscar and his incredible impact below.
Oscar Peterson Quick Facts:
Oscar was born in Montreal in 1925.
He began playing piano at the age of 5 and studied with studied Paul de Marky, a student of István Thomán, who was a pupil of Franz Liszt. His early studies were largely based in classical piano, which largely accounted for his incredible technical abilities.
Oscar played with the likes of Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen, Count Basie, Ella Fitzegerald, Sam Jones, Joe Pass, and many more.
He was hugely influenced and inspired by Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, James P. Johnson, and Nat King Cole.
In 1975 at the age of 50, Oscar won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance By a Group: The Trio
In 1997, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award: Instrumental Soloist Lifetime Achievement
Charles’ thoughts:
Man, I don’t even know where to begin with Oscar! I think I was 11 or 12 when I opened my Christmas stocking one Christmas morning to find a random CD that I didn’t recognize. It was “Oscar Peterson: Encore at the Blue Note” from 1990.
I hadn’t really been exposed to jazz yet, so none of these absolutely legendary names made an impression at first glance.
But I had been getting into more “popular” music in my piano lessons, so my parents thought this might be cool.
They didn’t know what it was either…
As many things do with 11 year olds, it got set aside as I ripped through the rest of Christmas morning that year. As much as I wish I could reach out and swat my younger self, the album somehow wound up in a drawer in my room.
Where it sat for a full year.
Then, one day while I was cleaning my desk (we’ll never know what miracle caused that happen), I stumbled upon the unopened CD still in its plastic cover. I thought to myself “oh yeah…this thing. I wonder what it actually sounds like?”
Finally deciding to put it on and check it out, what happened next can only be described as “fate.”
My life changed forever the moment I heard Oscar Peterson play.
I had been playing the piano for a few years at this point and I was constantly looking for that thing that I actually wanted to do with it. When I heard this album for the first time, it was like everything else just disappeared. In an instant I knew what I wanted to do with the piano.
This thing called “jazz” was entirely new to me and nobody in my life knew anything about it either. I didn’t know the names I know now and I didn’t know the rich history of the music that I know now. All I knew is that whatever that guy was doing on the piano, was what I wanted to do.
I listened to this album so much so that I unintentional and subconsciously transcribed the entire thing. I didn’t yet know what “transcription” was or why it was so important, but I did it the way that it’s intended to be done- by sheer immersion driven by obsession.
I didn’t listen to anything else probably for over a year. I would bring a CD player on car rides and completely remove myself from anything else happening, opting instead to just go through the insanely swinging tracks like Billies Bounce. I didn’t understand how the piano could groove that hard.
I eventually started down the path of learning jazz as a whole and I became exposed to many different pianists who became significant influences. No matter where my interests have taken me, I always find myself going back to Oscar’s classic virtuoso sound and absolutely insane depth of swing and groove.
I firmly believe that few players swing as hard as Oscar did.
While many people have criticized his style for being a bit gratuitous and virtuosic for virtuoso’s sake, I’ve always loved it. I don’t care what anyone else says.
For me, Oscar’s the GOAT.