[Dixielandjazz] Oscar Peterson interview on Individuality
Chris Tyle
jazzchops at isp.com
Tue Dec 25 02:32:25 PST 2007
Nancy - A MILLION thanks for submitting that interview to the DJML.
Oscar was an incredible musical presence, a "beyond category" (to quote
Duke Ellington) musician. I sadly never got to hear him in person but my
record collection includes many of his recordings. I will never forget
how much I dug his recording with Roy Eldridge from Montreux in, I
think, 1977, and then that performance came out on DVD. For a trumpet
player, it is a TOTAL lesson in how to play swing trumpet. There are
times when I put that DVD on, watch what Roy is doing, and play the same
stuff on my horn. Fabulous!!! There's a great story about Dizzy being
backstage at that concert, commenting that Roy was really "on" that day.
And was he ever!!
I love the stuff Oscar mentions about using Lester Young's licks for
"Sometimes I'm Happy" in his own solos. So much for those people who
carp about playing someone else's licks! I think it deserves to be
reiterated here:
"The funny thing about it: I don't have any inhibition about
saying I learned such-and-such-a-person's solo. I can play you Nat's solo on
"Easy Listening Blues," I can play you Lester's "Sometimes I'm Happy," I can
play you numerous solos. I can sit there and sing them for you cause I
absorbed them in my growing up process. I'm not ashamed of that."
So for those people who say that copying someone else's ideas or solos is not creative, I say if it's good enough for Oscar, it's good enough for ANYONE! And I'll also mention that ALL the really great jazz players had the ability to play, note-for-note, some great solo by one of their mentors that they admired or were influenced by.
Cheers,
Chris Tyle
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