Jazz Odyssey : The Life of Oscar Peterson

by Peterson, Oscar

• ISBN13: 9780826476241
• ISBN10: 0826476244
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-28
• Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group

Summary

Oscar Peterson's career as a jazz pianist has spanned over five decades. During that time, he has recorded nearly 90 albums, won seven Grammys, and earned lifetime achievement awards from the Black Theatre Workshop, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. He has played with, and come to know, many of the genre's greatest contributors, including Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. Peterson chronicles his storied career in A Jazz Odyssey: The Life of Oscar Peterson.Organized chronologically, A Jazz Odyssey takes readers through the development of jazz over the course of the late 20th century as seen by one of the jazz world's most celebrated figures. Peterson guides readers through the turbulent 1940s, when he was playing with the Johnny Holmes Orchestra in Montreal, and first met Norman Granz - the jazz producer who would launch his career. With Granz, he joined Jazz at the Philharmonic, playing at Carnegie Hall and touring all over North America. A Jazz Odyssey also brings readers to the birth of the Oscar Peterson Trio - where Peterson would hone his trademark arrangement of piano, guitar, and bass and work with the likes of Ray Brown, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis. Peterson describes the endless practice sessions and tireless work ethic that earned the group the reputation of the hardest working trio in the business. He also describes meeting his idol Art Tatum during the 1950s and touring with him in Jazz at the Philharmonic.A Jazz Odyssey explores the process behind cutting the dozens of albums that the Oscar Peterson Trio cut during the 1950s. The trio's incarnation atthat time included Peterson, himself, in addition to Herb Ellis and Ray Brown - a group that would become known as one of the greatest jazz c

Table of Contents

Prefatory Note	ix
Cast of Characters	xi
PART ONE: THE KEY TO OSCAR
CANADA
1 Beginnings	5	(6)
2 Early Teachers	11	(3)
3 My Dad: Daniel Peterson	14	(5)
4 The Formative Years	19	(5)
5 Subcultures and Bigotry	24	(5)
6 Runs, Chords, and Girls	29	(6)
7 Decisions, Decisions	35	(9)
8 From Sixteen to Three	44	(8)
9 Collie Ramsey: Mystery Piano Player	52	(4)
10 Departure and Arrival—Part One	56	(3)
11 Departure and Arrival—Part Two	59	(6)
AMERICA: THE 1950's
12 Early American Days	65	(11)
13 From Duo to Trio	76	(3)
14 Herbie's Story	79	(3)
15 Trio Control and Growth	82	(3)
16 Membership Flow in the Trio (I): The 1950's	85	(4)
17 Early Trio Life and Dealing with the Road	89	(3)
18 The Dinner Battles	92	(2)
19 A Different Kind of Taping	94	(1)
20 The Bus—Part One	94	(3)
21 The Bus—Part Two	97	(2)
22 Kissing Bandit	99	(2)
23 Ice-Cream Charlie Does It Again	101	(1)
24 The Slasher	102	(1)
25 The Return of the Dallas Flash	103	(2)
26 Five Cameos	105	(1)
27 The Knowledgeable Media	106	(1)
28 The Southern Draught	107	(8)
NORMAN GRANZ
29 Norman Granz: Reluctant Genius	115	(16)
30 Norman the Gourmand	131	(2)
31 Lifetime Achievement Grammy	133	(6)
JAZZ PEOPLE
32 Coleman Hawkins: The Enigma	139	(11)
33 Meet the President: Lester Young	150	(5)
34 The Legend Is Real: Lady Fitz	155	(10)
35 Billie Holiday: The Mysterious Lady Day	165	(7)
36 The Lady Day Sessions	172	(2)
37 Buddy Rich	174	(2)
38 Roy (Speedy Gonzales) Eldridge	176	(4)
39 Harry Edison	180	(2)
40 Bill Harris	182	(3)
41 Stuff Smith	185	(2)
42 Stan Getz and Zoot Sims	187	(2)
43 Carmen McRae: The Special One	189	(2)
44 The Other Lady Day: Anita O'Day	191	(2)
45 A Glance at My Confreres in the Piano World	193	(7)
46 Wynton Kelly: Brimsha Man	200	(1)
47 In the Studio: The Proving Ground	201	(6)
48 The Verve Charlie Parker Jam Session	207	(2)
49 The Role of the Accompanist	209
PART TWO: MORE KEYS: THE 1960's ONWARD
50 The Percussive Group: Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen	219	(3)
51 The Night Train Album	222	(1)
52 Membership Flow in the Trio (2): 1960's and 1970's	223	(4)
53 The Long and the Short of It	227	(2)
54 The MPS Years	229	(7)
55 Those Unrelenting Bassists	236	(14)
56 Persuasive Percussion	250	(4)
57 Joe Pass: Guitar Eternal	254	(3)
58 Porgy And Bess with Joe Pass	257	(1)
59 Hangout in Japan	258	(4)
60 Duke Ellington: Monarch Supreme	262	(2)
61 The Trumpet Kings	264	(4)
62 Clark Terry: Unsung Hero	268	(3)
63 Ronnie Scott: "The Rev"	271	(2)
64 Mr. Pretty: Alan Claire	273	(1)
65 Four Vignettes	274	(5)
66 Paul de Marky's Chopin-like Eggs	279	(1)
67 Benny Green: Critic Supreme	280	(1)
68 "Oscar's Piano Parties"	281	(7)
69 The Hands Hassle	288	(3)
70 Preparation for Solo Piano Performance	291	(5)
71 Pianos: My Lifelong Friends	296	(9)
72 The Electronic Revolution	305	(3)
73 Promoters and Their Ways	308	(3)
74 The Royal Wedding Album	311	(1)
75 The New Quartet	312	(1)
76 The Order of Canada	313	(1)
77 The Glenn Gould Prize	314	(1)
78 The Praemium Imperiale	315	(4)
PART THREE: MATTERS POLITICAL
79 Bigotry Starts Early	319	(3)
80 Nigger!	322	(3)
81 My Favourite Politician	325	(1)
82 Pitfalls of the Profession	326	(3)
83 Cultural Politics: The Betrayal of Jazz	329	(14)
PART FOUR: MATTERS PERSONAL
84 True Moments of Greatness: The Outdoorsman	343	(4)
85 The Great Hotels of the World	347	(6)
86 The Continual Search for True Friends	353	(5)
87 Night Child	358	(1)
88 Marriage and Fatherhood	359	(6)
89 Surgery; Resurgence; Stroke!	365	(3)
90 The Perfect Retreat	368	(2)
91 The Elusive Control of [motion	370	(2)
92 The Will to Perfection	372	(3)
Index	375