Oscar Peterson (August 15 1925 - December 23, 2007)

Oscar peterson is without a doubt the greatest inspiration to me as a jazz pianist. In fact it was this man that first got me interested in playing jazz piano. I was simply mesmorised by what he was able to do on the piano. One of Oscar's forte's was his incredible pianistic technique (which was a match for piano legend Art Tatum, who was one of Oscar's biggest inspirations).Even as a young boy during his classical training, his teacher was stunned at the speed at which he could play. But Oscar wasn't simply a technician on the piano. His brilliant infusion of jazz and blues gave him a very unique, and very enjoyable style (the album Night Train is probably the best example of his jazz-blues style). His brilliant combination of an effortless light, delicate touch and mind-blowing displays of technique made him, certainly in my opinion, one of the most exciting musicians to listen to, and there will certainly never be anyone quite like him again. Sadly Oscar suffered a stroke in later life, which hindered the use of his left hand, but he eventually returned to performing. While he was never the player he used to be, it was still an absolute delight to watch or listen to him play, and he will be remembered and missed by millions.

You can hear our trio perform my favourite track of his, "Hymn to Freedom", in the Jazz Band section of the site.