[Deathwatch] Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist, 82

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Jazz great Oscar Peterson dead at 82
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/24/obit.peterson.ap/index.html


TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- Oscar Peterson, whose early talent and speedy
fingers made him one of the world's best known jazz pianists, died at
age 82.

 His death was confirmed by Neweduk Funeral Home in Mississauga, the
Toronto suburb where Peterson lived. The town's mayor, Hazel McCallion,
told The Associated Press that he died of kidney failure but that she
did not know when. The hospital and police refused to comment. The
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that he died on Sunday.

"He's been going downhill in the last few months, slowing up,"
McCallion said, calling Peterson a "very close friend."

During an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Peterson played
with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald,
Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. He is also remembered for touring in a
trio with Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar in the 1950s.

Peterson's impressive collection of awards include all of Canada's
highest honors, such as the Order of Canada, as well as a Lifetime
Grammy (1997) and a spot in the International Jazz Hall of Fame.

His growing stature was reflected in the admiration of his peers. Duke
Ellington referred to him as "Maharajah of the keyboard," while Count
Basie once said "Oscar Peterson plays the best ivory box I've ever
heard."

In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "one of the
bright lights of jazz has gone out."

"He was a regular on the French stage, where the public adored his
luminous style," Sarkozy said. "It is a great loss for us."

Jazz pianist Marian McPartland called Peterson "the finest technician
that I have seen."

McPartland said she first met Peterson when she and her husband, jazz
cornetist Jimmy McPartland, opened for him at the Colonial Tavern in
Toronto in the 1940s.

"From that point on we became such good friends, and he was always
wonderful to me and I have always felt very close to him," she said. "I
played at his tribute concert at Carnegie Hall earlier this year and
performed 'Tenderly,' which was always my favorite piece of his."

Born on August 15, 1925, in a poor neighborhood southwest of Montreal,
Peterson obtained a passion for music from his father. Daniel Peterson,
a railway porter and self-taught musician, bestowed his love of music
to his five children, offering them a means to escape from poverty.

Oscar Peterson learned to play trumpet and piano at a young age, but
after a bout with tuberculosis had to concentrate on the latter.

He became a teen sensation in his native Canada, playing in dance bands
and recording in the late 1930s and early 1940s. But he got his real
break as a surprise guest at Carnegie Hall in 1949, after which he
began touring the United States and Europe.

He quickly made a name for himself as a jazz virtuoso, often compared
to piano great Art Tatum, his childhood idol, for his speed and
technical skill.

He was also influenced by Nat King Cole, whose Nat King Cole Trio album
he considered "a complete musical thesaurus for any aspiring Jazz
pianist."

Peterson never stopped calling Canada home despite his growing
international reputation. But at times he felt slighted here, where he
was occasionally mistaken for a football player, standing at 6 foot 3
and more than 250 pounds.

In 2005 he became the first living person other than a reigning monarch
to obtain a commemorative stamp in Canada, where he is jazz royalty,
with streets, squares, concert halls and schools named after him.

Peterson suffered a stroke in 1993 that weakened his left hand, but not
his passion or drive for music. Within a year he was back on tour,
recording "Side By Side" with Itzhak Perlman.

As he grew older, Peterson kept playing and touring, despite worsening
arthritis and difficulties walking.

"A jazz player is an instant composer," Peterson once said in a CBC
interview, while conceding jazz did not have the mass appeal of other
musical genres. "You have to think about it, it's an intellectual
form," he said.

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary