Oscar Peterson died at the age of 82 yesterday. If he wasn't the greatest jazz pianist of all time he was certainly the most technically accomplished one and the most prolific recording artist of all. He produced over 400 albums over his long career.
I first met Oscar at a little jazz club in Portland, Oregon called Sidney's. That was in 1965. He was there along with Thelonius Monk and, of course, Sidney himself - a very accomplished jazz pianist. I heard him again at the London House in 1966 and in a jazz club I can't remember in Denver in 1967. I heard him again 2 more times at the London House in the 1980's. I own about 70 or 80 of his recordings and consider him the greatest of them all. I play a little jazz piano myself so I can really appreciate what his gigantic skill and talent could do.
Oscar was trained in classical piano at the Julliard school. Because of his race, he wasn't able to get concert engagements. That's the way things were in the 1940's. So he turned to jazz and became a true master of jazz improvisation and, in my opnion, the greatest jazz pianist of all time. I'll miss him and I know the jazz world will miss him deeply.
