Oscar Peterson, born in Montréal, Québec, was the son of immigrants from the Saint Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands, and grew up within the Black neighborhood of Little Burgundy. Surrounded by jazz tradition, he started his music training at simply 5 years outdated, studying from his father. He additional honed his classical expertise below the tutelage of his sister, Daisy Peterson Sweeney, who herself would go on to show notable jazz musicians.
Peterson attended the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, the place he studied classical piano with Paul de Marky. Nevertheless, his ardour for jazz led him to additionally experiment with boogie-woogie and ragtime. By the age of 14, Peterson had already received the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s nationwide music competitors. He dropped out of highschool to pursue a music profession, enjoying professionally at native resorts and radio exhibits. At 16, he joined the Jonny Holmes Orchestra, the place he turned its solely Black musician.
From 1945 to 1949, Peterson recorded 32 songs with RCA Victor. The Nineteen Fifties marked the start of his prolific profession, releasing quite a few albums and collaborating with jazz legends comparable to Billie Vacation, Louis Armstrong, Rely Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Peterson’s huge break got here in 1949 when jazz impresario Norman Ganz, upon listening to Peterson play dwell on the radio, rushed to the membership to see him carry out. Peterson’s subsequent efficiency at Carnegie Corridor in 1949 cemented his worldwide fame. Underneath Ganz’s administration, Peterson turned a worldwide jazz sensation.
In 1951, Peterson fashioned a trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Charlie Smith. Through the years, the group developed, and with guitarist Herb Ellis becoming a member of in 1953, the legendary Oscar Peterson Trio was born. The trio’s 1962 album Night time Prepare turned considered one of Peterson’s most profitable releases. The observe Hymn to Freedom, from that album, turned a robust anthem for civil rights worldwide, carried out by choirs across the globe and awarded the UNESCO Worldwide Music Prize in 2000.
All through the Nineteen Sixties and 70s, Peterson’s trio noticed shifts in membership, however his affect continued to develop. Regardless of battling arthritis within the Eighties, Peterson revived his trio within the Nineteen Nineties, producing acclaimed albums, together with Saturday Night time on the Blue Observe, which received three Grammy Awards.
Peterson’s profession spanned a long time, incomes him quite a few accolades, together with eight Grammy Awards, the Order of Canada, and a statue in his likeness unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II. His legacy as one of many biggest jazz pianists stays simple.
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