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Oscar Peterson: Oscar Peterson Trio
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Oscar Peterson was a teen sensation on piano in his native Montreal, playing in dance bands and recording in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In the late '40s he began touring the United States and Europe and quickly made a name for himself as a jazz virtuoso, often compared to piano great Art Tatum for his speed and technical skill. Though Peterson usually played in a trio (notably with Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar in the 1950s), he has ... played with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. A recipient of Canada's highest awards and honors, he also has a Lifetime Grammy (1997) and a spot in the International Jazz Hall of Fame.
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Oscar Peterson was a star in Canada, his homeland, before Norman Granz brought him to this country in 1949 for a surprise debut at Carnegie Hall. First, a perennial mainstay of Jazz at the Philharmonic, the charismatic Oscar Peterson soon enjoyed universal popularity. This DVD is a prime example of how he delighted the audiences of five continents in the framework of his superb trios.
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Oscar Peterson started classical piano lessons when he was six and developed quickly. After winning a talent show at 14, he began starring on a weekly radio show in Montreal. Peterson picked up early experience as a teenager playing with Johnny Holmes' Orchestra. From 1945-49, he recorded 32 selections for Victor in Montreal. Those trio performances find Peterson displaying a love for boogie-woogie, which he would soon discard, and the swing style of Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole. His technique was quite brilliant even at that early stage, and although he had not yet been touched by the influence of bop, he was already a very impressive player.
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In 1951, Oscar Peterson formed The Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Charlie Smith who was replaced by Herb Ellis in 1952 and recorded and toured extensively with Jazz At The Philharmonic. They made extensive recordings and were acclaimed as one of the greatest combos of the time. In 1958, with the retirement of Herb Ellis, Ed Thigpen joined the Trio. The Trio would keep this line-up until 1965 when both Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen retired from touring.
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In the early 1950s Peterson began performing with Ray Brown and Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward the drummer Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby, formerly of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Barney Kessel.[2] Kessel tired of touring after a year, and was replaced by Herb Ellis. When Ellis left the group in 1958, Peterson and Brown believed that Ellis could not be replaced adequately, and the trio added a drummer, at first Gene Gammage for a brief time, then Ed Thigpen. In this group Peterson became the dominant soloist. Later members of the group were Louis Hayes, Bobby Durham, Ray Price, Sam Jones, and George Mraz.[1]
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From that moment on, Oscar Peterson became a force to be reckoned with and his fame grew around the world. He would go on to record something like 100 albums under his own name and he often turned up playing on other recording sessions for people like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and many many others. Not content to just play music, Oscar set out to become a composer. Two of his most famous works are Canadiana Suite, in 1963 and African Suite in 1979. On the eve of Canada's 100th anniversary, the National Film Board produced the 16 minute film, Celebration which was made up entirely of colour stills filmed and edited together. The film used sections of Peterson's Canadiana Suite as performed by the Oscar Peterson trio.
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Oscar Peterson Trio