FOCUS: Something a little different — jazz from Oscar Peterson

By Elliott Brack, special to Charleston Currents  | How about a little something different today?

Let me introduce you to a 6.53 minute video with some of the most soothing music I have ever heard.  The work comes from the late jazz virtuoso Oscar Peterson, and it is a composition of his own, which he entitled, “Ode To Freedom.”

The short video came from one of my daughters, who knew that Oscar Peterson was my favorite jazz pianist. We have often enjoyed CDs of his music, amazed at his tremendous speed and dexterity in playing the keyboard. Yet, at this track below shows, Peterson could also play with great emotion and depth. 

What I would like for you to do is listen here right on your computer to the music. It was first recorded in Denmark in the 1960s and somehow was preserved on video. I usually merely listen to the music, not actually keeping my eyes on the screen, but sitting back, often closing my eyes, and merely listening.  It seems to me to be even more soothing this way, you don’t have to watch Mr. Peterson continue to whip his face from prodigious sweating while he works, or have to pay attention to the keyboard, or get distracted by the drums (Ed Thigpen) and bass (Ray Brown) in the background.

• Click here to hear the music.

Now, wasn’t that enjoyable?  Don’t know about you, but once I listen to it, I often listen again. It calms and energizes me.  First comes that slow, simple series of notes on the piano, and a little later the bass and drums quietly join in.  Mr. Peterson carries this theme through two variations, before you hear those same notes in the background which tells me he’s about to go into another variation of his music. Even when he’s playing up-and-down the keyboard, often quite fast, still those same, almost-hidden notes come through, continuing the quiet theme. To me, that’s fantastic. So simple…..so elegant…so enjoyable. 

Oscar Peterson was a Canadian, born in Montreal in 1925, and died in 2007. He was a big person, always smiling personality, and played the piano with a 14-note hand span. His early training was in classical music. He had his own weekly radio show at age 14, and grew in stature and style from there. One called him the “maharaja of the keyboard,” as he made over 200 recordings, and won eight Grammys. Another source called him “Possibly the most successful artist produced by Canada.”

His Oscar Peterson Trio featured Ray Brown on bass and Herbie Ellis on guitar. Later, when Ellis left, Ed Thigpen replaced him, this time on drums. 

One source wrote that Peterson was a master of “cascades of many notes.”  There is no doubt that he could really command the keyboard, sometimes pounding it with intensity, and at other times playing it like a cat purring. He continued to perform until 2006, though his public appearances were sporadic after a stroke in 1993 which affected the use of his left hand, and his ability to walk. 

If you want to hear more of Oscar Peterson’s music, so much is available on the internet today. Just Google his name, and enjoy his music. How’s this for something different today!

Longtime Georgia journalist Elliott Brack edits and publishes GwinnettForum.com.  Have a comment?  Have a comment?  Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com