Oscar Peterson: 1925 - 2007

[Vitalstatistix]

I can't believe I've only just found out about this. Fuck. One of the all time Jazz greats has passed, at the age of 82, of kidney failure. Happened on the 23rd.

Now I know there's some 'whores who are proper Jazz freaks, and I'm hoping they can contribute something to this thread, maybe recommend some of his most accomplished works, talk about similar artists etc. Me, my Jazz collection is small and my knowledge even smaller, but I know this, I absolutely fucking adored the Peterson stuff I had, and this news has made me sad. I possessed only a tiny fraction of his enormous discography (I had most of his Gerswin work, along with Night Train, Face to Face and some live stuff) but it really is all fantastic. This guy could play piano like no-one else I've ever heard, simply astonishing at times. Peterson balanced technical mastery with an accessible and endearing ear for sublime melody and playfulness, and I often used his songs  - above those of Davis, Hancock, Monk, Coltrane et al - to introduce Jazz to dubious friends of mine. They were immediately smitten, every one.

RIP.

[LadyDay]

Very sad news. I was chatting to my brother-in-law about him the other day. Apparently he was a fantastic singer as well but made a pact with Nat King Cole, his hero and friend, that he wouldn't sing and Nat wouldn't play piano so they didn't encroach on each other's career. Such was the camaraderie of the musicians then. Can't imagine anyone doing that today. Truly one of the greats.

We also watched our favourite DVD, Jazz on a Summer's Day, a documentary of the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958, which I'd highly recommend if you've never seen it. (No Peterson but some fabulous performances) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052942/

[Anon]

Bloody hell, that news passed me by - clearly dying over Christmas isn' the greatest PR move.  RIP then - and thanks for Night Train, that's a cracking album.

[Vitalstatistix]

That documentary sounds really good LadyDay. Thanks for the recommendation.

[terminallyrelaxed]

RIP. Basin Street Blues on the way home then.

[Sam]

Now I know there's some 'whores who are proper Jazz freaks, and I'm hoping they can contribute something to this thread...talk about similar artists etc.

Check out Phineas Newborn, Jnr a very under-rated pianist who at times equals Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. He really is extraordinary and it's a crime he isn't discussed in the same breath as the aforementioned greats.