[Dixielandjazz] Oscar Peterson - NY TIMES REVIEW

[Steve Barbone]

OP is a living legend. As many know, including list mate Tito, he can play
some great OKOM when the spirit moves him. And, as I recall, he recorded
with Louis Armstrong. I had dinner with him about 50 years ago in the
Greenwich Village pad of bassist Chuck Traeger whose Canadian born wife June
cooked an gourmet meal. Besides being an extraordinary jazz musician, OP is
an extraordinary man.

His skills may be diminishing, but then, I'd go to see him, just to see him
and be part of that thunderous applause he gets just for walking on stage.

If you are in the NYC area, go see him at Birdland. (through Sunday) It will
give you goosebumps.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

The Twilight of a Jazz Star, Still Filling the Seats, and Still Swinging

The pianist Oscar Peterson, known for his ebullient style, opened the
performance on Tuesday at Birdland with Milt Jackson¹s ³Reunion Blues.²

NY TIMES - By NATE CHINEN - August 24, 2006

³There have been many reports that I died,² the pianist Oscar Peterson said
on Tuesday night at Birdland. He waited a beat. ³I haven¹t gone there yet.²

This was by no means an original comic premise ‹ Mark Twain beat him to it
by more than a century ‹ but it still sparked grateful applause. Of course
the audience was also making a general offering to Mr. Peterson, whose
ebullient piano style has been much beloved since his emergence at the dawn
of the 1950¹s. He is one of a small handful of jazz musicians who can not
only sell out a steeply priced weeklong engagement, but can also receive a
standing ovation just for walking onstage.

Mr. Peterson, who just turned 81, required some assistance as he climbed the
stage at Birdland. And his playing, once so breezily self-assured, has
assumed some poignant vulnerabilities. He opened with Milt Jackson¹s
³Reunion Blues,² noticeably struggling with its jaunty melody, a steplike
descending pattern. Because his guitarist, Ulf Wakenius, was also playing
that melody, Mr. Peterson¹s imprecision was evident even to those in the
audience who didn¹t know the song.

It was after that inauspicious beginning ‹ the first song of the first set
of the week, in fairness ‹ that Mr. Peterson made his bid at morbid humor,
which doubled as a kind of a disclaimer. More than a dozen years ago he had
a stroke that severely weakened his left hand. Though he recovered and
resumed playing, his technique inevitably suffered, and age now seems to
have exacted a toll on his legendary right hand as well.

Yet there were some delightful moments in the set that underscored Mr.
Peterson¹s affinity for the blues. He has a canny sense of dramatic contrast
and often followed a string of bebop licks with a chunkier, chord-based
approach. On one slow blues he set up a dialogue between both hands,
answering each careful right-handed phrase with a crudely rhythmic
left-handed accent, not unlike an Amen chorus.

The other members of his quartet ‹ Mr. Wakenius, the bassist David Young and
the drummer Alvin Queen ‹ were attentive and supportive, and they kept up a
strong sense of swing.

Ballads also played a prominent role in the set. Mr. Peterson prefaced one
of his own, ³When Summer Comes,² by proudly noting that it had recently been
adopted into the repertory of Diana Krall. (He didn¹t mention that the
lyrics are by her husband, Elvis Costello.) The sparseness of the song
suited his pianism, which has always been more about line than color, even
on ballads, and even in his prime.

Before he played another original ballad, ³Requiem,² Mr. Peterson reflected
on the many people jazz had lost over the years. His list began with the
bassist Ray Brown, his closest musical partner, and the impresario Norman
Granz, his most influential supporter. It ended with the pianist Art Tatum,
whose virtuosity served as an obvious precedent during Mr. Peterson¹s most
glorious years.

³If I keep naming names, I won¹t have time to play the tune,² Mr. Peterson
said, placing his hands on the piano keys. There were a few good-natured
chuckles, but this time he seemed fully serious.

Performances continue through Sunday at Birdland, 315 West 44th Street,
Clinton, (212) 581-3080.