[Dixielandjazz] Oscar Peterson Obit - BBC

[Steve Barbone]

Rest in Peace Oscar Peterson. Below is the BBC obit. I'll post the NY Times
obit when it appears.

He could play just about any style and did. For example, I think it was list
mate Tito Martino who played some Dixieland with Peterson sitting in. he
also made a tribute album to Nat King Cole and he sang on some tunes,
sounding eerily like Cole. Super guy, super player.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Obituary: Oscar Peterson - BBC

Peterson was widely considered one of jazz's greatest pianists

As a child, Oscar Peterson - who has died at the age of 82 - began learning
to play the trumpet, but a bout of tuberculosis caused him to switch to the
piano. This proved to be a blessing, since he was to become one of the most
popular virtuoso jazz pianists.

He made more than 200 albums and won eight Grammy awards, including a
lifetime achievement honour in 1997.

His hallmark was the capacity to play at lightning speed, while maintaining
the ability to swing. What's more, he could play in a variety of jazz
styles. 

BIG BREAK 

Peterson was born in Montreal, Canada, in August 1925, and was the son of a
West Indian railway porter. His father, a strict disciplinarian with a love
of music, had him classically-trained, both at the Montreal Conservatory and
by private tutors. 

Oscar Peterson was known for playing jazz in many different styles

He switched to jazz after listening to Benny Goodman on the radio and, at
the age of 14, he won first prize in a talent competition for amateur acts.

This led to spots on Canadian radio and to work with dance orchestras around
Quebec and Ontario. His first record, at 19, was the single I Got Rhythm,
arranged in a boogie-woogie style. Peterson then joined one of Canada's most
popular bands, the Johnny Holmes Orchestra.

He resisted offers from the United States, most notably from Count Basie,
until he was picked up by the impresario Norman Granz, who was in a taxi
when he happened to hear Peterson playing live on the radio. Granz
stage-managed Peterson's New York debut, calling him up from the audience at
Carnegie Hall. The speed and vitality of his subsequent performance won him
a standing ovation.

Influenced by the virtuosity of jazz pianist Art Tatum, and the silky vocals
of Nat "King" Cole, Peterson explored a wide spectrum of American
songwriters with his trios and quartets over the next 40 years.

CRITICISM 

He also played solo and as an accompanist to many of the great names of the
day, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday,
Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker.

The critic Leonard Feather once wrote of him: "Peterson's capacious hands
can extract the gentlest whimper, the profoundest roar or the deepest indigo
wails from his keyboard."

Peterson had his critics too, however.

Some avant-garde jazz artists in the 1960s found him improvisationally
shallow. But a tour of Europe in the 1970s convinced him that he was right
to ignore the suggestions that he was "in a rut".

Arthritis and a stroke affected Oscar Peterson's later years

Jazz critic Benny Green wrote in 1971 that "in addition to incisiveness and
clarity of mind, Peterson has developed a most subtle command of dynamics".
"The ebb and flow of his attack can suggest orchestral influences quite
distinctly," Green continued.

In 1982, Peterson began performing with Herbie Hancock, as a piano duo.

On stage, he was relaxed and friendly, although he insisted on silence
during his concerts, once walking off for half an hour when he felt the
audience was not listening.

He was increasingly troubled by arthritis and in 1993 he had a stroke which
restricted the movement in his left hand.

Some critics felt, nevertheless, that this made his music more emotionally
compelling. And he continued to leave a lasting impression right up until
his death. 

Only last month, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame announced it was to
present the star with its Founder's Award in 2008, to celebrate "a brilliant
jazz pianist and composer" who showed "musical dexterity and energetic
performances". 

Peterson, who died at his home in Toronto, was married four times and had
five children, all by his first wife.