Oscar+Peterson

Oscar Peterson

[|Oscar Peterson] was a Canadian jazz pianist who played from the 1950s- early 2000s. He is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians the world has ever seen. He won many awards for his playing, including 7 Grammys.

As a young pianist in Montreal, he learned to play classical music, and it was not until his teens that he began to play in first the "boogie woogie" style and later jazz.

In the 1970s he formed a trio with Herb Ellis(Guitarist) and Ray Brown (Bassist). They performed and recorded many songs.

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Because Oscar Peterson was black, he encountered discrimination when he toured, especially in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s where there were law to segregate blacks and whites. During the civil rights movements of the 1960s, Oscar Peterson wrote the song, Hymn to Freedom, so show his support for black Americans fighting for equal rights.

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Oscar Peterson was influenced by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and he would often tell his piano students that they should learn to play Bach to become better pianists. This is his "tribute" to Bach, starting at about 4:00 you can hear the scales and quick finger work both Peterson and Bach are well known for.

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This video has Oscar Peterson describing some of the musicans who influenced his playing style:

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Other Resources: [|Oscar Peterson Singing] [|Oscar Peterson Piano Playing] [|Oscar Peterson Very Fast Piano Solo] [|Oscar Peterson accompanies Nat King Cole] [|Oscar Peterson accompanies Ella Fitgerald, It Don't Mean a Thing] [|Chromatic Fantasy by Bach, played by Glenn Gould]