Oscar Peterson

He married several times. His first three marriages to Charlotte Huber, Sandra King and Lillian Fraser ended in divorce. His fourth wife was Kelly Peterson to whom he was married till his death. He had a total of seven children from his marriages.

His health began deteriorating during the later years of his life. He died of kidney failure in December 2007.

He was born as one of the five children of Daniel Peterson and Olivia John who were immigrants from the West Indies to Canada. His father worked as a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

He grew up in a predominantly black neighbourhood where there was a heavy influence of jazz culture.

His father loved music and insisted that each of his children learn to play at least one musical instrument. Young Oscar began playing the trumpet which he was forced to stop after a bout of tuberculosis. He shifted his attention to piano as a result.

Initially he was taught music by his father and elder sister. He was a very talented player who spent hours practicing and honing his musical skills.

His father arranged for him to train under the reputed pianist Paul de Marky who taught Peterson classical piano. He also learned traditional jazz and boogie-woogie.

He was allotted his own radio show ‘Fifteen Minutes Piano Rambling’ on the Montreal station CKAC. He was featured on CBM’s ‘Rhythm Time’ in 1941 and within years he was a national icon who had been heard on the shows ‘Light Up and Listen’ and ‘The Happy Gang’.

During this time Peterson was deeply influenced by the likes of Teddy Wilson, Nat “King” Cole and Art Tatum. Tatum became a role model for him and inspired his music throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

He joined the Johnny Holmes’s Orchestra in Montreal in 1944 and played with them till 1947.

He formed his own trio in 1948 which consisted of Austin “Ozzie” Roberts on the bass and Clarence Jones on the drums, along with Peterson himself on the piano. His group also included for a brief time Ben Johnson on the guitar. The trio used to perform at the Alberta Lounge and their broadcast could be heard on the Montreal radio station CFCF.

His chance meeting with the impresario Norman Granz was a turning point in his career. Granz heard a live broadcast of Peterson’s performance and was highly impressed by his music. Eventually Granz and Peterson would form a deep professional as well as personal connection.

Considered the ‘Maharaja of the keyboard’, Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest jazz pianists to have ever lived. He gave thousands of live concerts all over the world and released over 200 recordings in a career spanning over six decades.