Keyboard Magazine - March 2008 - (Page 38) Dr. Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007 was greater than the sum of its parts. They made music that was simply too cool to be believed. Oscar made a number of other duet recordings during this time, most notably with some of the best trumpet players ever, including Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, and Jon Faddis. One of the greatest piano and bass pairings in the history of jazz came about during this period: Oscar and the late bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, whose facility on the bass was super-human. He swung like there was no tomorrow, which was a good match for Oscar. It was Norman Granz who put them together originally. “Oscar was planning a European tour,” Granz related in subsequent album notes, “and I suggested Niels to Oscar, who, surprisingly, had never heard him. In any case, Niels joined Oscar for the first gig in Budapest. That night Oscar called me, raving about Niels, and has since never stopped raving him.” Oscar’s solo work was, of course, among the most astonishing of all; he had such arrange-on-the-fly skills that no other musicians were really necessary. His live solo sets are particularly interesting. Coming at the end of the already arduous tours with the full group, they had inherent upsides and downsides. “Performing solo opened up a whole lot of things for me,” he once told me. “There were places I couldn’t go musically, so to speak, doing the trio. I couldn’t do stride, for example, unless we knew beforehand that I was going to do it. Harmonically, I could go anywhere I wanted, because I wasn’t stepping on anyone’s toes.” You’d expect, once free of the constraints of the trio, he could play any composition any way he pleased. “But it was kind of lonesome,” he said, halfjokingly. As a soloist, though, Oscar was up against the most unyielding factor of all: the condition of the pianos that waited for him onstage. “When you see a nice polished grand piano” he said, “you really never know what’s going on inside it until you play it. Every instrument has its own personality, some good, others not so good, others a little obsequious. Whatever it was, I tried to get control of that particular temperament, so that I could do what I had to do that night, dependent on how I felt.” Indeed, the instrument often partially determined his choice of repertoire, and what style he applied to the individual tunes. This had the unusual side benefit of helping to keep each concert fresh for him. “Different pianos make for different performances of different tunes,” he explained. “Some pianos can give you a beautiful legato feel, depending on how good a control you have over them. Others won’t. Secondly, since I was playing solo, I could challenge myself and think, ‘Yeah, I haven’t played this tune in awhile,’ and then play it. So there was a built-in freshness to any solo performance. I’d decide on the first tune somewhere between the dressing room and the piano, but after that, it was strictly all how I felt.” An Oscar Peterson performance could never be beat for sheer excitement. You never knew what he’d do next, and he never failed to dazzle. The jazz world is diminished with his passing, but his recorded legacy endures. I encourage you to explore it, and also to dig into the additional resources listed in the Selected Discography on page 36. Oscar Peterson was a master on any piano, in any setting, in any era. Oscar Peterson redefined swing for modern jazz pianists for the latter half of the 20th Century up until today. I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. He mastered the balance between technique, hard blues grooving, and tenderness. You’ll find Oscar Peterson’s influence in the generations that came after him. No one will ever be able to take his place. Herbie Hancock Oscar Peterson, OP, the King of Jazz Piano, sadly, has left us. Happily, he also has left us a wealth of music through his recordings. Oscar with his phenomenal technique created a legacy of his own, which can be heard on all the seminal OP recordings, including Night Train, We Get Requests, West Side Story, OP Trio plus One (Clark Terry), and thankfully the list goes on. A couple of my personal favorites are Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio, and Diz and Getz. Both had a major impact on my own interest in jazz piano, so much so, that it has become the centerpiece of my life. There’s not a jazz pianist playing today who hasn’t been influenced by his music, and I am certainly no exception. I will always be in awe of his amazing talent, and for this I say, thank you Oscar! Andy LaVerne Oscar Peterson was a true creative genius and an incredible jazz pianist. He had such an absolute command of the instrument that he was always able to deliver what I called “gems of virtuoso jazz improvisation” by skillfully capturing that specific swinging mood that was present in his innermost being, and by communicating it seamlessly right on the spot to his audience. He achieved from the very beginning what usually takes many pianists a full lifetime to accomplish. You could not help yourself but smile or even cry from witnessing such a deep, perfect, and exhilarating musical experience. Here’s to one of the last giants of jazz piano! Michel Camilo I first met Oscar in the ’40s when [my husband] Jimmy and I opened for him at the Colonial Tavern in Toronto. From that point on we became such good friends. He was wonderful to me and I have always felt very close to him. He has been a guest on Piano Jazz at least three times; the last time he came was with his wife and daughter, and I asked if he needed a bassist. He said, “I don’t need a bass player.” I played on his tribute concert at Carnegie Hall earlier this year and performed “Tenderly,” which was always my favorite piece of his. His playing was magnificent and always wonderfully swinging. He was the finest technician that I have seen.” Marian McPartland 38 keyboard 03-2008
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