Oscar Peterson
can i open a thread on oscar peterson's playing.. i'd be interested to hear people's opinions on his playing, his style, etc. gill
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from my viewpoint - its technically superb and demands a high level of virtuosity. maybe not as 'hard swinging' as some other, nore 8 to the bar players but great to listen to.
not a million miles away from the art tatum style of playing - very ornate.
i suspect there are some transcriptions around but be prepared to be greeted with pages where there's more ink then paper...
not a million miles away from the art tatum style of playing - very ornate.
i suspect there are some transcriptions around but be prepared to be greeted with pages where there's more ink then paper...
from my viewpoint - it's technically superb and demands a high level of virtuosity. it's definitely up there with the most swinging music ever. however it's definitely not as spontaneous, creative or lyrical as some jazz...
oscar could swing as hard as anyone has ever done it in my opinion. also when it comes to innovation and stuff like that, keep in mind that historical figures like oscar peterson were playing in the very early years of jazz piano and things that are cliche now are often times cliche because guys like oscar starting doing them and everyone copied what they were doing. his signature style of playing rubbed off on a lot of players out there.
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by Scot Ranney on 12/16/2009, 11:34
i remember a video i saw of him once playing in some club in chicago or a similar place. he was playing a quartet with dizzy and doing the whole super fast be-bop thing and in the middle of a blues when oscar was playing it as pure solo piano, you could just barely hear someone in the audience say something about oscar not being able to swing the blues anymore - a valid observation that night because he and dizzy were just spraying notes as fast as they could.
so within moments of the person saying this, oscar jumped into one of his signature boogie/stride/blues playing styles and proceeded to blow the room away with a rocking boogie woogie as only oscar could play it.
i searched for the vid on youtube, can't find it, don't remember anything else, but it's a very nice example of a guy who could do it all, anything he wanted on the piano, while forcing you to tap your feet whether you liked it or not :)
so within moments of the person saying this, oscar jumped into one of his signature boogie/stride/blues playing styles and proceeded to blow the room away with a rocking boogie woogie as only oscar could play it.
i searched for the vid on youtube, can't find it, don't remember anything else, but it's a very nice example of a guy who could do it all, anything he wanted on the piano, while forcing you to tap your feet whether you liked it or not :)
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by Scot Ranney on 12/16/2009, 11:37
there is a live dvd out called oscar peterson trio 63.64.65. the performance from denmark 1964 is some of the best oscar i ever heard!
the trio was just amazing.
anyway if you take jeff hamilton(his trio) and guys like that the all come out of the op tradition.
somedays when im in another mood i put on ahmad jamal "live at the pershing" that is just as unbelieveable but ofcourse quite different to op.
the trio was just amazing.
anyway if you take jeff hamilton(his trio) and guys like that the all come out of the op tradition.
somedays when im in another mood i put on ahmad jamal "live at the pershing" that is just as unbelieveable but ofcourse quite different to op.
oscar is really swinging, although, i'm not a huge fan of most of the stuff from the 70s on. 50s and 60s oscar is killin. any transcribing of oscar i have ever done is from that period(in fact, i'm currently working on his c jam blues solo from night train in all keys).
, not just a player.
it's become quite fashionable amongst some of the uber-hip young jazzers to look down on oscar but i think he'll rightly take his place in history as one of the greatest of all time.
in terms of his innovation, as well as his contribution of licks to the jazz library, he was one of the first jazz pianists to develop the left hand into a soloist, treating it as an equal partner to the right and using it to play intricate lines.
ironically, enough this was the genesis of what brad mehldhau is doing these days and he's idolised by some of those pianists turning their nose up at oscar - go figure...
finally, i think he always came across as a true gentleman and a fantastic ambassador for jazz. i can't recall him saying too many derogatory things about people and his love for playing and performing always shone through.
he is sorely missed.
it's become quite fashionable amongst some of the uber-hip young jazzers to look down on oscar but i think he'll rightly take his place in history as one of the greatest of all time.
in terms of his innovation, as well as his contribution of licks to the jazz library, he was one of the first jazz pianists to develop the left hand into a soloist, treating it as an equal partner to the right and using it to play intricate lines.
ironically, enough this was the genesis of what brad mehldhau is doing these days and he's idolised by some of those pianists turning their nose up at oscar - go figure...
finally, i think he always came across as a true gentleman and a fantastic ambassador for jazz. i can't recall him saying too many derogatory things about people and his love for playing and performing always shone through.
he is sorely missed.
i will second everything that barry said. from everything i've heard, seen, read, and watched with regards to oscar, he seemed like a very class act. always quick with being gracious to his musicians and his audiences, always respectful, and yes, he is sorely missed.
in fact, after listening to peter nero for a couple years when i was getting into jazz piano, the next pianist i heard was oscar. my roommate in college said, "if you like peter nero, you gotta listen to oscar peterson." i said, "who?" ha ha... i was 18 and had been playing strictly classical up until that point. peter nero and op really opened my eyes and ears to the kind of music i really wanted to play but didn't even know it.
in fact, after listening to peter nero for a couple years when i was getting into jazz piano, the next pianist i heard was oscar. my roommate in college said, "if you like peter nero, you gotta listen to oscar peterson." i said, "who?" ha ha... i was 18 and had been playing strictly classical up until that point. peter nero and op really opened my eyes and ears to the kind of music i really wanted to play but didn't even know it.
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by Scot Ranney on 12/18/2009, 13:29
oscar was clearly one of the greatest who have ever graced the planet. he is a legend. and like most legends, there will be those who love him and some who just don't get if for one reason or another. there are other legends i don't get, but maybe someday i will:)
a casual listen to his solo playing will show what a great pianist he was - regardless of genre
if there are gods of jazz, oscar would surely be one of them.
one of my very favorites, cake walk:
walking left hand, stride left hand, swinging blues:
oscar peterson piano lesson:
i'll stop, this is a subject i'm heavily drawn to and it woudl be easy to put a hundred links of amazing op stuff here :)
walking left hand, stride left hand, swinging blues:
oscar peterson piano lesson:
i'll stop, this is a subject i'm heavily drawn to and it woudl be easy to put a hundred links of amazing op stuff here :)
If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.
Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.
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by Scot Ranney on 12/19/2009, 11:24
wow scot - thanks for those!
imho oscar was and is one of the greatest jazz piano players of all time. i feel one of the reasons people look down on oscar is because playing was heavily entrenched in the blues..
jazz seems to becoming less and less bluesy as the years go on. more intellectual, more european, more white..whatever you want to call it.
it used to be a very heavily african american style w/ mostly african american players. now, it's the opposite and sadly the blues is being ironed out of jazz. blues vocab (which oscar had tons of) is starting to be considered passe'. this is really a shame as blues is the roots of what jazz is.
even though blues isn't anywhere near as popular as it was 50 years ago you still hear most popular music having melodies that are based off the blues scale or blues sound. the masses still very much relate to that sound. it's still very relevant!
we wonder why jazz is becoming less and less popular and relevant?....well removing the blues is what's doing it.
jazz seems to becoming less and less bluesy as the years go on. more intellectual, more european, more white..whatever you want to call it.
it used to be a very heavily african american style w/ mostly african american players. now, it's the opposite and sadly the blues is being ironed out of jazz. blues vocab (which oscar had tons of) is starting to be considered passe'. this is really a shame as blues is the roots of what jazz is.
even though blues isn't anywhere near as popular as it was 50 years ago you still hear most popular music having melodies that are based off the blues scale or blues sound. the masses still very much relate to that sound. it's still very relevant!
we wonder why jazz is becoming less and less popular and relevant?....well removing the blues is what's doing it.
who looks down on op... thats ridiculous to waste your time or anyoee elses even thinking or talking about it. really it is similar to wasting your time thinking about or talking to people who want to debate the virtuosity and genious of keith jarrett and thelonius monk. if anyone wants to be that ignorant they are hopeless, just let it be, let it be.
james, i think a lot of getting out of the blues is people trying to break new ground, regardless of region or ancestry.
however, i don't think the blues sound in jazz is disappearing as much as you wrote. i see an interesting pattern in jazz players, in general. young players use a lot of blues, then they learn about playing outside. sometimes learning the science of reharmonization takes a person their entire lifetime, sometimes only a few years, but after getting through that period, i notice a lot of players returning to the blues, or at least embracing it in their playing along side everything else they are doing.
i notice some of the more "name" players in seattle are really messing with time these days, trying to comp as weird as possible, trying to play melodies that are so off balance that you dont' know where 1 is... that's more about jazzers trying to show each other up than people trying to make good music.
anyway, i see a lot of people across the board in age who still sit down and play the blues, just look at you tube, do a search for a good blues song or a good blues player and see all the people emulating what they are doing. oscar peterson hymn to freedom is pretty bluesy and it seems like there are dozens of people who posted videos of them playing it.
however, i don't think the blues sound in jazz is disappearing as much as you wrote. i see an interesting pattern in jazz players, in general. young players use a lot of blues, then they learn about playing outside. sometimes learning the science of reharmonization takes a person their entire lifetime, sometimes only a few years, but after getting through that period, i notice a lot of players returning to the blues, or at least embracing it in their playing along side everything else they are doing.
i notice some of the more "name" players in seattle are really messing with time these days, trying to comp as weird as possible, trying to play melodies that are so off balance that you dont' know where 1 is... that's more about jazzers trying to show each other up than people trying to make good music.
anyway, i see a lot of people across the board in age who still sit down and play the blues, just look at you tube, do a search for a good blues song or a good blues player and see all the people emulating what they are doing. oscar peterson hymn to freedom is pretty bluesy and it seems like there are dozens of people who posted videos of them playing it.
If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.
Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.
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Use the contact link at the top of the page.
by Scot Ranney on 12/21/2009, 10:07
oscar was the best of the best got damn it, now go sit down somewhere and practice!! :)
oscar said when he first heard art tatum, he nearly decided to give up playing piano. i used to feel the same way when i heard oscar play.
i feel that way when i hear myself play - heh heh
:)
that brings to mind something that i'll address in a new thread...
that brings to mind something that i'll address in a new thread...
If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.
Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.
Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.
by Scot Ranney on 12/23/2009, 11:24
thanks for the interesting replies, i love oscar peterson too, i was hooked after hearing nighttrain years ago.jazzy christmas!
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