Over the past 15 years I’ve taken a real liking to the music of Oscar Peterson (b. 1925), the amazing jazz pianist from Canada. The man has produced some of the most inspirational inventive improvizations and contemplative music to me.
Though I have found value in nearly all kinds of music, most of the stuff on the radio drives me nuts. What’s more, my tolerance for any kind of music is pretty fleeting. Even with great music I get sick of any genre within a couple songs, and my musical tastes are quite restless. Oscar Peterson’s work is the one exception. I can listen to his stuff at just about any time – it’s like an itch that I just can’t seem to scratch enough. Listening to his riffs convinces me that there are some people who’s brains are just hardwired to the ethereal. His brain is one of them.
That’s why when you look at all the amazon.com reviews out of his over 100 CDs every one gets nothing but a full 5 stars with very few exceptions. It’s an amazon.com track record that few if any other musicians can claim – at least those that have so many CDs.
Below I’ve hotlinked to some amazon.com samples of some of his renditions of songs you might already know to familiarize yourself with his style. Personally, I think his best stuff are his own compositions like his understated “A Little Jazz Exercise“. or his contemplative “Wheatland” from his Canadia symphony.
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You might recognize these – after listening, do an amazon
search and listen to lesser known stuff – it’s all good! |
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Wave6
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D&E7
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CDs:
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1) Dimensions: A Compendium of the Pablo Years [BOX SET] 2) Oscar In Paris: Oscar Peterson Live At The Salle Pleyel 3) We Get Requests 4) Exclusive for my freinds [BOX SET] 5) Oscar Peterson Plays The George Gershwin Songbook |
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Enjoy!
Whorled View 