A lesson with Oscar

[drawback]

 

 

'scuse me if this has been posted before:

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adan]

The "search before posting" guys will tar and feather you for this!

 

Is there any interesting keyboard-related historical stuff on youtube that hasn't been posted about? At this point, I wonder.

[mate stubb]

Well I had not seen it at least, many thanks!

[Bobadohshe]

I for one have never seen this and thank you for posting it. Totally awesome conversation!

[Michelle ggurl]

Fantastic vid. Thanks for sharing!

[yannis D]

I don't know about USA but you don't see that kind of a prime time show on european TV anymore, unless you have some kind of a pay channel. It's depressing...

[Ian Benhamou]

I don't know about USA but you don't see that kind of a prime time show on european TV anymore, unless you have some kind of a pay channel. It's depressing...

 

Elvis Costello's Spectacle. It's better than Dick Cavett ever was.

[yannis D]

Where's that?

[longfuse]

There was a good Andre Previn hosted special in the 70s along similar lines, where Peterson demonstrated various styles. I dare say that's floating around out there somewhere...probably on 'da toob!'

[longfuse]

yup, on da toob:

 

[mate stubb]

Geez, if you don't have those shows in europe anymore, why would you expect us to in the US?

 

All of our shows have grotesquely tanned and made up women from New Jersey in them.

[yannis D]

Yes, it's sad...

BTW i saw the Peterson/Previn interview, and it's such a lesson, thanx for posting.

[MonksDream]

I've said this before about Art Tatum and it's just as true about Oscar: hearing him play makes me want to practice like crazy AND give up the piano entirely at the same time! Thanks for this clip, drawback

[Musicale]

WOW

 

I used to sit outside The London House or Mr. Kellys in Chicago when I was about 10 for the matinees. Either Oscar or Ahmad would be there and they would sit at the piano usually with a trio right in the window. You could watch them from the sidewalk. I could never get in. This brings back great memories. Listening, especially to Oscar humbles you immediately. You just know you'll never even be close but you keep up the hope and enjoy what you were given, always knowing there is a higher power.

 

Regards,

[Rocket Man 2]

What a joyful man he was!(besides being an amazing pianist.)

 

Just a treat to see it again. Thanks for posting.

[Analogaddict]

Awesome!!!

[MuzikTeechur]

I've loved Oscar Peterson since I was but a lad- my mom is a big fan as well and played his records along with Errol Garner's and Jimmy Smith's when I was young. I'm very lucky to have grown up listening to his music.

 

Interestingly, when I was in college, my piano professor, as well as most of the other piano students, kind of snubbed Oscar and instead embraced artists like Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, etc. I never understood why - I transcribed a few of Oscar's solos for projects and found them to be nuggets of music theory perfection, and even when he goes into 64th notes, metrically perfect. I often had to slow things down to 1/2 and even 1/4 time to hear every note, and at those speeds the notes come at you with machine gun accuracy and spacing.

I decided that my tastes were my tastes and clung to my affection for Oscar.

 

Years later I stumbled onto a recording of Gene Harris and was really blown away - he shares a lot of characteristics with Oscar: great harmonization, harmonically interesting lines, a lot of Oscar's quickness, and some heavy Gospel influences. He's a little more accessible to us mere mortals who might try to borrow some of his material. You should check him out.

 

(I can't get the video to embed, so you'll have to click)

Gene Harris Summertime with the Ray Brown Trio

[richwhite9]

 

Interestingly, when I was in college, my piano professor, as well as most of the other piano students, kind of snubbed Oscar and instead embraced artists like Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, etc. I never understood why - I transcribed a few of Oscar's solos for projects and found them to be nuggets of music theory perfection, and even when he goes into 64th notes, metrically perfect. I often had to slow things down to 1/2 and even 1/4 time to hear every note, and at those speeds the notes come at you with machine gun accuracy and spacing.

 

By the mid-60s Oscar was considered a throwback. It's not that Oscar and George Schearer didn't progress but the most innovative stuff at the time was from the school of Munk to Evans to Hancock and modern harmony.

 

Could Oscar do some of the harmonic stuff found on Hancock's River album? I don't know. His tone poem stuff was interesting but he just wasn't as inventive in harmony and chord structures as the younger crowd. I get Oscar because he's based enough on the blues. He's an easy listen for rock and blues players looking to expand their chops into the jazz/blues arena.

[cnegrad]

That said, I'm frequently surprised with Oscar's beautiful reharm. He's far from being "just" a Tatum-style throwback.

[orangefunk]

yup, on da toob:

 

 

nice post... watched the whole thing... wonder what year this was? Mid 70s perhaps?

[richwhite9]

Here's Oscar's best known Tone Poem AFAIK. I seem to remember reading about it in some magazine years ago

 

It's a real loose take on America and cleverly works through several genres. As I said earlier there are those that were way beyond Oscar hamonically at this point in his career but I relate better to him due to use of Blues and Gospel as his foundation.

 

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-mIHk2rM0Q&p=CB207A4472F5A0A2&playnext=1&index=2

[Dave Ferris]

. It's not that Oscar and George Schearer didn't progress but the most innovative stuff at the time was from the school of Munk to Evans to Hancock and modern harmony.

 

I think you meant to say Monk and I'm assuming you meant George Shearing Rich.

 

Oscar was never a huge Jazz influence on me, except from more of a mastery of the instrument perspective. I do think though had he chose to go in that more "modern" direction that started with Bill and Clare Fischer and later developed more by McCoy, Herbie, Chick and Keith, he most certainly had the "equipment". Both obviously in the technical department, but also the Harmonic knowledge. I have a transcription of the "Canadian Suite" and there are some very modern devices, compositionally and harmonically all throughout.

 

Oscar did work on the Classical pieces when he was coming up so he had the same knowledge of the shadings and colors of the the Impressionistic cats like Ravel, Debussy and the Romantics like Chopin that inspired Bill Evans, Clare and the rest.

 

In his autobiography , "The Will to Swing", I remember him talking about his admiration for both Herbie and Chick in the '60s but felt his path of staying true to the "blues" and "swing' was really his voice.

 

I also read an interview with the great pianist Benny Green, who kinda became an adopted son of Oscar's. Benny said something like, if Oscar chose to put out an album of some of the things he practices, people wouldn't recognize him. He can go places that I had no idea of. And this is coming from Benny, who's a pretty versatile guy in his own right.

[ProfD]

Years later I stumbled onto a recording of Gene Harris and was really blown away - he shares a lot of characteristics with Oscar: great harmonization, harmonically interesting lines, a lot of Oscar's quickness, and some heavy Gospel influences. He's a little more accessible to us mere mortals who might try to borrow some of his material. You should check him out.

Gene Harris is my favorite jazz pianist. But, I certainly appreciate Oscar Peterson for his skill and admire them both for sticking to their style.

[RABid]

Oscar Peterson taught me to like Sushi.

[DanL]

He's good, but he's no Hiromi.

[kanker.]

He's good, but he's no Hiromi.

[MuzikTeechur]

Oscar Peterson taught me to like Sushi.

 

Yes, but he called it "bait."