Oscar Peterson

One of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Oscar Peterson was born in Montreal but lived most of his life in suburban Toronto. Like his fellow Canadian Glenn Gould, Peterson seems fond of humming and singing along with his work, but it does seem a trifle more apropos with Richard Rogers than with J.S. Bach. Peterson was a childhood prodigy who was classically trained by a Hungarian emigre who had studied under Franz Liszt. However, he eventually drifted into jazz, as did so many young musicians of the day.

Just to highlight the universality of jazz, the bassist in this recording is Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, who was Danish, and the drummer is an Englishman, Martin Drew. Peterson work a lot with trios, sometimes exchanging the drummer for a guitarist, and less frequently with quartets.

Oscar Peterson suffered a debilitating stroke in 1993, after years of failing health. He was offered the opportunity to serve as the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, but he declined. Peterson never completely recovered and died at his home in 2007.