Was this the case for any of you? During my time in school, Oscar almost felt weirdly "shunned" in a way. Almost like he was too cliche to be cool or something. I don't know, it drove me nuts because Oscar is literally the reason I play the piano. What was your experience in school?
I recently went on my arc of discovering Art Tatum and all of his works last year. It was the most transformative time for me since discovering Jordan Rudess. I can say I see the resemblance in the way they Art and Oscar are both viewed, being the GOATs. ua-cam.com/video/HjbB0Df43g8/v-deo.html I can't wait to start a similar journey through Oscars music, having seen him on your channel multiple times now. Charles, I would love to hear what you would recommend for me to jam to on my channel, it's made up of recommendations from everyone and then stuff I kike. That link is Arts rendition of You're Mine You, to give you an idea of what I'd do. I always loved the idea of shredding a synth over these types of songs especially to beef up the chops and learn new licks/ideas, so this is my way of doing it I guess. Having perfect pitch like they did also helps some.
A music teacher I really disliked is who introduced me to Oscar Peterson's C Jam Blues, and I was so impressed with what he was doing that I was a fan immediately. Best thing I ever learned from him.
I did not have the same experience. We did know the instructors' favourite music and musicians because he would really light up, but he was just as enthusiastic about all of them.
I got my bachelors in music from a liberal arts college with a music department that didn't put much emphasis on jazz. Art Tatum and Fats Waller were the only two pianists my music history professor really covered. I wasn't a piano major, so for those students the experience might have been different. This was all many years ago as well. It might all be different now. (I hope it is!)
I've just completed my first year studying piano and I love him! Now I'm transcribing C Jam Blues from Night Train because it's been stuck in my head since I first heard it
One of the things you can’t overlook in any conversation about OP’s musicality is his class as an accompanist. Go back and listen to those old Ella and Louis albums- I’d argue they wouldn’t be the timeless albums that they are without the incredible support of Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.
Oscar Peterson was my first influence at the piano, in 1978. I was 12, and I didn't even know what Jazz was. I was studying classical music, Bach, Chopin, Liszt.... But when I heard the Oscar Peterson trio, I couldn't sleep for 3 days, amazed, mesmerized, trying to decipher that incredible music. And I still study him a lot. He's one of the greatest. Soon, I discovered other wonderful guys, like Bill Evans and his marvelous harmonies... Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, and many others. Oscar Peterson style is unique, and can be recognized instantly. He comes from another jazz genius, which is the great Art Tatum. 🎉🎉❤
Bebop requires toolbox phrases. Nobody invents anything at 300 bpm. Study any bebop great from Parker to Powell and you hear many similar phrases. I've always thought of Tatum and Peterson as my favs because their style is just mesmerising!
Nobody could improvise introductions like Bud Powell. Listen to multiple takes of a tune like Reets and I. His imagination was boundless. Oscar plays a lot of blues cliches, beautifully executed, but the two aren’t comparable.
Part of it is taste, and that’s fine. Oscar was always old school; he never changed much and was around a long time, stylistically he just fell further and further behind the cutting edge. Part of it is image; someone like Bill Evans is definitely “cooler” in the sense of being aloof, taking lots of drugs, etc. And part of it is that it is a lot easier to see yourself playing like Bill Evans than it is to see yourself playing like Oscar, because to play like Oscar is all but impossible. I really haven’t heard anyone do it convincingly, while I have heard many people do a pretty good Bill Evans. Why would you want to try to imitate someone when you would only ever be a second-rate version? Not that jazz is about imitating others-to the contrary, everyone looks for their own “voice”-but the things that made Oscar Oscar, i.e. the sheer bloody dexterity and the ability to string ideas together so quickly, are almost impossible to match. And yes, from time to time Oscar needed to coast for a few bars on some stock riff-and all the jazz purists yell “aha!”-but JESUS CHRIST MAN, he just strung together 60 bars of seamless licks at 200 frickin miles an hour and sweat is pouring off his face, is it ok with you if he takes a goddamned breather??! So many other guys are clearly thinking every bar; with Oscar half the fun is wondering where the hell the notes are coming from
Jesus Molina sometimes does sort of the Oscar thing. I've seen/heard Domi do that too. I can picture the video, but I don't remember where to find it. The Molina one I was thinking of was a NAMM video, where people were expecting him to show off and be flashy - it was totally appropriate for the context, just like when Peterson did it. Someone else mentioned Hiromi, but I couldnt
...I couldn't remember a specific moment when I thought Hiromi was "doing the Oscar thing"... but that just speaks to my limited knowledge of her body of work, not to any limitation on her part.
Totally agree, especially regarding taste. It's like Wynton Marsalis - I'm not really a fan of big band (prefer '-tets'!) and Wynton has a particular idea of what jazz is so you could say he is not 'cutting edge', but there's no denying that he and his band members are all very good at their craft - but there is a 'formula' to their style and they do it very well.
@JohnSmith-oe5kxx BRAVO 👏🏻! Couldn’t have said it better myself. 😆THANK YOU. OSCAR ( my pianos name) is the greatest amongst the phenomenal other jazz musicians around. ( in my opinion’And slowly they are ‘going home’. My Godfather is/was RIP UNC) Senator Eugene Right)- l was an embryo when l first heard jazz & classical. Dave Brubeck with my DAD, was the first gig l went to. I was 3! And l remember so much of it. Sorry, l get carried away a bit sometimes! But THANK YOU SO for sharing your knowledge with people. Much appreciated! 👍🏽🎹✨
Bruh, Oscar is the best. I don't get how you can say that he just plays random flashy licks, his lines are some of the most well constructed (purposeful note choice) I've heard.
Oscar Peterson and Sonny Stitt are my two favorite jazz artists of all time. That said, in terms of sheer skill, Tatum and Bird were better. It's just that I PREFER Peterson and Stitt, musically.
The most spontaneous and free-spirited performance that I know is probably Nica's Dream by Oscar Peterson. There is a part where he has a false start to a lick and then repeats the start. It is reminiscent of record scratching before that was a thing.
The great Bill Evans was a truly creative improviser. Listen to the entire Portrait In Jazz trio album - I don't hear any repeated studied licks - its pure melodic, harmonic and rhythmic invention when he solos. In this he was truly the exception. Sure Oscar did use a lot of licks that came readily to his hands (like most jazz soloists) - its not taking anything away from him as far as being a great pianist. The thing I most appreciate about him is his arrangements. I wish Wynton Kelly or Sonny Clark had taken the same care when they were leading trios.
Oscar was the best jazz pianist ever. I discovered him in college around 1970 and never quit listening to him. He still lives on today by his inspiration of today's pianist like Hiromi Uehara.
It must be mentioned how brilliantly Oscar plays rhythmically through his melodic lines. His touch is both delicate and powerful at the same time bringing those lines to life with perfectly placed accents. His powerful swing is a great joy to me and inspires me as I play along on the drums.
Right, what you said is both true, very observant and completely provable. I’ve been playing jazz piano for 45 years. Whenever I slow down many of his solos the thing that catches my attention is that his notes are both powerful and lighting fast ALL at the same time!! But notice also that each note can be identified and is CRYSTAL CLEAR! In other words his dexterity, articulation and technique was such that he could play hard, fast and articulate each and every note at unbelievable speeds! His finger autonomy is unrivaled.. When I observe most every other jazz pianist playing fast, their notes sometimes blur together, meaning that there is some overlap occurring at blistering speeds and the fingers are kinda of holding on to the preceding notes before letting go. To my knowledge he does this better than any other jazz pianist that has ever lived! Peace’
Oscar Peterson is perhaps my favorite Jazz Pianist. I feel happy when I hear him play, and often laugh out loud with delight at his genius, musicality, and virtuosity. I absolutely love the way he played. 😎
I was only part of a jazz program at university for a year, but we talked about Oscar all the time lol I’m absolutely baffled that he isn’t universally praised
I think what makes this style of playing work or not work is how much feeling you are able to put into the music. Oscar's music sounds so vibrant and compelling because he swings so hard and has such a sense of joy in his playing. Another player who knew all the notes but didn't have the same feeling wouldn't sound nearly as good. Great video. Good to add some new verbal vocabulary about musical vocabulary.
In an interview Oscar talked about pianists that he liked and started playing phrases of them and showing us their styles. To me this showed that he isn't just someone who plays simple fast repetitve lines as hater like to describe him. His understanding of jazz is still beyond anything of ours. Whenever he covers songs he maintains respectful towards the componists and then adds his own flavour which really showed that he nails it
He produces very beautiful notes, the essence of music is how beautiful you create the notes. For me he is like Chopin in jazz packaging Nicknamed the "Maharaja Of The Keyboard" by the iconic Duke Ellington,
OP is the GOAT. His technique and approaches to the many different songs he plays always seems to be wonderfully unique. His take on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" opened my eyes as a novice jazz pianist to the wonders of structure, form and even simplicity in solo lines.
Great points! If anyone thinks Oscar ONLY had "pre-packaged" licks needs to listen to his work as an ACCOMPANIST, with people like Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald and Lester Young... recordings where he takes much of his flash and puts it in his back pocket to serve the greater good of the music. Oscar had the ability to contain himself out of respect for the music and especially his fellow artists.
Charles you are indeed VERY TALENTED and a freaking magician on the keys. I love hearing you play in addition to your perspective. Thank you again and again!!
I really think you should do an interview with Diana Krall about jazz vocabulary since she studied with him. It would be great to have you two sitting at the piano talking about Oscar.
What a charming tribute. Oscar was my hero as a youngster. I saved paper route money to buy every one of his records on Pablo. Revisiting this decades later, I’m impressed with the deep dive and salivating to give it a go again myself. Far out.
This is unbelievable to me but now that I think of it, when I was in school, we never analyzed, transcribed, or really were taught about Peterson. It's odd to me, as he was the pianist that got me obsessed with jazz and eventually led me to study it. His work with Pedersen on bass and Joe Pass on guitar is incredible and that Count Basie duet is insane.
Oscar was the greatest I have ever heard on record or live. Despite his fame he is under-rated. I had the priviledge of seeing him on is final Uk tour. An old man who could barely walk to the piano, sat down and the world opened up. You analysis is deep and I particularly liked where you mentioned that he is often on top of the beat. Same is true of the late (and equally great) Pat Martino who was notoriously on top of the beat. Your description of the lick v impro is equally exact, and equally applicable to Pat. Fact is, all jazz players have their licks. A native speaker of any human language has their figures of speach/cliches and, to be precise, that is what separates native speakers from fluent 2nd language speakers. Most of the jazz you hear is spoken by fluent 2nd language speakers. Why? Because what happens with a native speaker is seamless combination of cliches and original remarks. Fluent 2nd language speakers certainly sound different (ish) each time, but it is all sewn together. With native speakers, you don't feel that, and the reason is that the cliches fill the space between the new stuff seamlessly (haha - note use of repetition). That is what Oscar does. Improv is NOT about saying one new thing after another, it's about saying some old, some new, some borrowed, some blue - you, know, talking, not reading, not thinking and shoving out what you thought into speech. The last of these seems indistguishable from the first but it isn't; it's just fast prepared reading from an internal script. In other words, it isn't spontaneous. Cliches give you the time to say something spontaneous - like when I said ' you know' a couple of lines back, repeated 'native speaker', and so on. These are commonplaces of language that glue whatever original ideas are present together.
I like this analysis, but actually, using the notion of "language" with music is incorrect. I know I'll sound pedantic (but you started it with the language thing)! :) Music has phrases, but what are the nouns and adjectives of music. Is there subject-verb agreement? How do you decline a chord progression. When people start using the metaphor of "language" to describe things that aren't language, trouble starts. But language as the master-metaphor for reality is what happened in the 20th century, and maybe it's just an accident that there were some genocides that came along with it. It's a very dangerous corruption of human experience (even more so, once you start "writing" language). So, it would be helpful if you could redo your argument without having to resort to language as a metaphor. There is expression, not language, for instance. There is gesture that repeats. There is redundancy, which is not repetition, but simultaneous presentation of information in more than one channel (like a movie with subtitles, or a video with music). These things are more "general" for human expressiveness. Maybe the thing that people object to in Oscar is that his music IS too linguistic ultimately. Too linguistic, and not expressive enough.
Love this topic as it applies to every genre of music and every great player. Overtime all of us soloists build an arsenal of licks, and carry our bag of tricks. And we all find someone to criticize us for it. 😂
One of my favourite pieces is the recording of OP playing Tin Tin Deo with Ray Brown from 1964 and Ed Thigpen - the first time I heard it I had to repeat it several times. I still love it many, many years later.
One of the greatest aspects of OP was that SMILE! And when he would sing along while he was playing! I feel like his willingness to rely more on the "auto-pilot" stuff was part of what allowed him to smile and sing. And it meant you could see how much he was enjoying himself! You can almost see the opposite of this when Charles, at 10:00 , switched from his natural vocabulary. When he forced himself to leave that behind and strike out with a different style, you could see the intense concentration that it took! Some may appreciate that. But I will take OP, singing and smiling, any day over the others featured in this video! Art Tatum as the exception, of course. :)
Im 100% on your team!! I see OP as a incredibly powerful persona - smiling, vocalizing, sweating! I think some people are drawn to dark and brooding players. I have so much love and respect for the light and majesty of OP!
The way you describe Harris’s playing make sense with the workshop I had the pleasure of attending decades ago. He showed us how to create lines that connected standard progressions. It sounds linear, but is completely about voice leading and going through the chord tones.
I met OP a few times when I was in school. We were warned when he was coming and told to not say to him, "Mr Peterson, you're the greatest jazz pianist ever!" Those who didn't heed the warning would be corrected - Art Tatum is the greatest jazz pianist - and dismissed.
@marike1100 hard disagree on the "carbon copy" statement. Oscar had his own distinct style. Yes the runs are similar but you don't have to listen Art and Oscar that much to recognize the obvious differences.
@@belindadrake5487I mean, he's pretty good, I guess. If you're into that sort of thing, I mean, which of course I'M not... but I try to find value even in bad opinions, so I won't badmouth the guy too much... We're still pretending to be extreme music school caricatures and stereotypes, right? I was just trying to match the energy of your absurdity.
Oscar is/was amazing. Total improvisation is impossible; you are always stringing together known riffs in innovative ways. And listening to Oscar is just FUN; surprising, complicated, lots of references to his 'stride' roots, but always brings a smile! Thanks for picking these things apart; I couldn't do that on my own.
Oscar was my introduction to jazz. In my last year of high school, I had a friend who brought a record player and jazz records to school. I listened with him but didn't get it. Later, a drummer I worked with played me the Osccar, Ellis, and Brown trio, and I didn't even notice the lack of a drummer!. What I loved about it was the swing and somehow Oscar never loses you.
I agree 1000 percent! Oscar was the greatest ever. After all, he invented his style, his musical vocabulary, his brilliance, and, yes, his innovations in voicing as well as technique.
i was trained in classical music and over the years i’ve casually broke into jazz. i have never heard of this piano player before but as soon as i heard his sound i knew he was from the classical side. jazz is a language that i’m still learning. hearing the greats in jazz still feels over my head, like there’s patterns and ideas i’m not recognizing. his sound was different. it’s like it all clicked and i could understand the language better
Oscar Peterson to me is the most important pianist to come along since J.S. Bach, in that these two people were both able to 'crack the code' of harmony and seem to speak it as a pure language. Nobody else has been able since Peterson to marry classical and jazz so perfectly.
My BEAUTIFUL DAD ( who l lost 😣, was a jazz nut. I’ve heard all this l’ve heard jazz as an embryo) . You SHOULD NOT THINK when you improvise. Is it jealousy? He’s been my number ONE forever . Bill EVANS is my number 2! Naysayers miss out. Bad luck. I. WOULD keep my big mouth shut; coz people have different tastes. Jazz ( l’m a west coaster!) BUT! Emily Remler has an album called ‘EAST TO WES’. I met her, & she was tiny like me. We actually got on amazingly. We were honestly going to have a jam in a couple of days; but she passed away here in OZSTRALYA. I was shattered. 😢 She was so humble, so nice & brilliant. I digress; when HOLLYWOOD came into its prime, East coaster Musos left to go there; they needed musos. I AGREE WITH YOU 💯+%!!! OSCAR IS MY GO TO. My DAD 💔taught me so much about music. He is THE GREATEST to me- OSCAR & My DAD( DAD💔 who l ‘lost’ 3 years ago, & yesterday. 😰) My BEST FRIEND. Every Saturday, we’d listen to this brilliant music, have a whisky or 2, & he’d tell me & show me the most amazing things. Funnily enough, l am the only muso in my family. He left me over 17,000 vinyl, CDs, DVDs, & amazing sound system. I’m on my own now, as a jazz nut. I play & taught rock guitar. But my broken heart feels better when l see great people like you my Friend!! They are out there somewhere. I’ve decided l would be really rapt to play in a cocktail lounge now. I became very ill ( peripheral neuropathy & oesteoarthritis). BUT, l won’t stop. OSCAR IS ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST TO ME!) 🎹👊🏾✨
I followed this channel years ago for the funny speech-to-piano vids, and now I’m completely hooked on the jazz & music theory stuff, even though I don’t play anything myself.
Finally got recommended this but HONESTLY the man should indeed be taught. He wasn't just proficient in his own unique style, but also in the styles of the other greats of his time. His interview on the Dick Cavett show only re-enforces that.
Have you ever done a video analysis of Thelonious Monk? Would love to hear your insights on his idiosyncratic style of playing. I got into jazz as a teenager, but it wasn't until my 30s that I came to fully appreciate Monk. At first, all I could think was, "WTF am I listening to" but later, once I opened myself up to it, I recognized his genius. And now he's one of my favorite pianists to listen to.
Oscar is one of the world's true greats. I believe that Hiromi Uehara got a LOT from studying Oscar. Re: playing prefab licks. My approach, when I just know that one of my prefab licks is coming up, is to somehow twist the rhythm around, or change a couple of notes. I often tell my guitar students that they should treat a lick just as they would a scale. That is, the lick should be a template from which a new or at least different lick can be built. I improvise often and as a result, I get tired of hearing my same old stuff. I deal with that by morphing my expected licks in real time in different ways.
100% perfectly stated. Not everyone is aiming to "play like a virtuoso". But if you attain a very high level of craftsmanship there will be music critics who dismiss your musical choices as being too technical, predictable, and/or flashy. There is a huge Art Tatum influence on Oscar Peterson and that is frequently not considered as musically fashionable as Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, or Bud Powell. Some people hear "amazing and spectacular" while others hear "over the top corny showmanship".
For all his virtuosity, Oscar was essentially a Blues pianist, albeit one who could swing it like on one else. But his solos always descend into the 12-bar Blues idiom. Even his Bossa Nova sounds like Blues. When Bud Powell plays Blues, it sounds like Jazz. That's the difference.
If you're talking about turning everything into the blues, I have to disagree agree somewhat with you. That honor must go to pianist Gene Harris. Lol 😂. Although OP considered Gene Harris his favourite pianist. Big difference between the two: Oscar loved to rehearse, Gene didn't.
I disagree (to an extent) with your opinion on that, while it certainly is true that Oscar had a plethora of bluesy licks not all of his songs are bluesy by any means, for instance, “the night we called it a day”, his version of “yesterdays”, “I’m a fool to want you”, his live versions of “on green dolphin street”, “old folks”, “this nearly was mine”, the list goes on for ever, yes a lot of these are standards. Anyway, I think it’s easy to misunderstand his insane ability to play fast for blues licks, he certainly does play a lot of the blues idiom but that’s not all he plays, listen to those songs and I’m sure you’ll have more variety to your opinion. You’ll quickly learn that his harmonic capabilities are much more than you may have thought. Time to take a break from UA-cam, I’m gonna go surfing..
Yes, disagree. I’ve listened to jazz as an embryo. Being a professional muso, we all look for our own ‘signature sound’. Easier for guitarists ( l play both. One band piano, another band guitar. ) Everyone has an opinion. That’s fine. This is a hard business to be in. That’s why l take no notice of naysayers. Of course, l have my opinions too. Different strokes. ‘Everyone has an opinion like everyone has an arse…. ‘. It’s all good. Take care everyone; & stay well. 🎹🎸👍🏽😃
My friend, pentatonics are very ‘handy’. Isn’t that wot people learn first? Too scared to go outside the ‘box’! 🙄 Totally disagree. Are YOU a professional muso? I teach as well; & l firmly disagree with you. Bill Evans is my no 2. Oscar is numero uno. I couldn’t care less about wot naysayers say! Stay well! 🎹🎸👊🏾👑
Of the many fav albums Oscar has done, his "Nigerian Marketplace" has to be among the finest jazz piano albums ever. My fondest in-person memories of him, are when he used to come to Los Angeles and always stopped at his fav piano store nr. Beverly Hills, owned by David Abell. David and Oscar were very close friends and David was also a franchised Bosendorfer dealer, which Oscar also endorsed for many years. David also sold the latest digital pianos and synths which Oscar loved to buy so he could tinker with them in his home studio. I fondly remember standing just 6' away as Oscar tried out the recent grand pianos that had come in since his last visit. He was always very friendly and he knew all of us listening raptly, were piano fanatics who were thrilled and grateful to be be this close to the master musician from Canada.
Night Train is one of my favourite jazz records, I have a copy on vinyl signed by the OP trio that my Great Grandad passed down to me. He played in Jazz clubs in London and met him when he played they played over here.
On Spotify I am in the top 1% of Oscar Peterson listeners. My improvisation style is influenced strongly by his. I am so glad to finally hear him getting the recognition he deserves.
Congrats🎉🎉🎉 on this one, I am sure this is what all Jazz musicians of past & present have done ( as mentioned) It's all prepackaged and the way we use it that makes it original... Keep up the great work kind regards Mr Robinson
Hey Charles, I think you should definitely consider making a video about Chopin. He deserves a spotlight because he made significant contributions to piano techniques and harmony. While it might not be directly comparable to jazz, his innovations were a major step forward in the world of classical music. As someone who has analyzed a lot of old and classical music, I've concluded that Chopin's work has had an impact, albeit indirectly, on the evolution of jazz (polyrythms, phrasing, structure, harmonies that takes you to nowhere, not so often but still there: large chords, textures and so on). I also want to add that this man heavily influenced other composers such as Debussy and Rachmaninoff. I recommend featuring some of his well-known pieces, such as Op. 10 No. 3, Op. 9 No. 2, Op 48 No 1, prelude in c minor, his Ballades (especially 1, 3, or 4), his Etudes, and "Winter Wind," among others. Chopin's music offers a rich and intriguing perspective and it would be dope to see you make a video about him.
Great video, Charles! To me, the one element missing from this discussion is *ear*. When a jazz player improvises, it’s not just pre-packaged licks and “pure” improvisation; our fingers follow where our EAR takes us. (At least, I know I tend to feel like my playing is “truest” when I play that way, rather than the other way around.) But the limitation is that our ears naturally take us to familiar places. So sometimes I find that even when I follow the current of the music (instead of fighting it and trying to “fit” ideas to it), I ultimately wind up back in the same bag. As a result, my vocabulary is a closed loop - unless I do exactly what you recommend here: transcribe new stuff! So it’s not “pre-packaged “ and “pure improv”, really. It’s “let your ear guide your fingers” or “let you fingers guide your ear.”
This guy's so right, and very helpful. Obviously, Peterson is reminiscent of Tatum, who was perceived as being a remnant of an earlier era, much like rachmaninoff versus the impressionists and the likes of early Prokofiev, Stravinsky or Shostakovich. As crazy as it sounds, I think he was underrated...
I think many things are like that, it comes down to "How big are the pieces you're building with". You can cook a packet of pasta with a jar of sauce, or you can make it all from scratch, down to grinding your own flour to roll your own pasta, or anywhere in between. Some great software projects are mostly connecting up a bunch of existing tools and libraries, some are hand written in assembly. You can make your musical improvisation out of bigger chunks than others, that's valid.
Absolutely love Oscar’s playing, such a beast on the keys. Never forget the first time I heard The Astaire Blues off the compilation of tunes Oscar’s Finest Hour. As a young music aficionado I just loved hearing the technical facility coming out of Oscar. Everything he played was so smooth and swung so hard.
I love that you just posted this, because I listened to a bunch of Oscar Peterson just the other day. It was my first time really exploring his music and I very much enjoyed it.
Hey Charles Awesome video! To me, Oscar is certainly at the very top of the discussion regarding the greatest jazz pianists and it's a shame he's not, or only briefly, mentioned in the jazz programs. The same goes for other great pianists that came a little before him like Fats Waller and so on. It'd be awesome if you could also do a video on them and discuss their style of playing since I think it gets overlooked a lot and Harlem stride is in my opinion one of the definitive solo piano styles.
Oscar is always a joy to listen to. He swings hard. He is so fluid. There is really no one else quite like him. He surpassed Tatum as far as I am concerned.
I’m a guitar player and I got to say I love your channel, subscribed 4min into this video. Very informative and inspiring as well :) Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for making this video. I'm studying at a conservatory now and have the exact same frustration! I love Oscar and listen to him night and day...
Oscar is a masterful, beautiful improviser. Listen to night train, or hymn to freedom, or I’m in the mood for love live off of girl talk. Oscar could move you with ballads just as deeply as he does swinging at 350bpm. Why he isn’t talked about in the same conversations as a lot of the greats baffles me. I would even go as far as saying I don’t think anyone studying jazz piano hasn’t transcribed or studied or been influenced by Oscar in some way.
Tons of comments here on an excellent video. Peterson's role in jazz for the whole of the second half of the twentieth is really beyond dispute. The scene for him was set by King Cole - not just a wonderful jazz pianist but a wonderful pianist who played jazz. He created a whole new style with emotion, clarity and swing. There are lots of videos of him playing on UA-cam. Give them a try!
Everyone has prefab licks. That's how people know it's you! I'd been listening to this great album by the trombonist Papo Vazquez. Loved the sax player on one track, but didn't look it up too much. Then I put on the Jaco Pastorius big band album a couple of months back. Same sax player! Michael Brecker :-)
Balance is in the eye, or ear of the beholder. Jazz isn't always about the notes, it also is about the pause, the ever so slight nuances staggered in a stroll or run, on any instrument being played. I adore OP playing, but if there are some naysayers, it's probably because his style fills most all the space of an improve. Much like conversation, no matter how interesting someone can be, if they leave no pause in conversation, it becomes monotonous.
Great mini-lecture Charles, yes I’m sure you can hear those repeated patterns in many other pianists, such as Chick Corea, Herbie and even Keith Jarrett. I love Oscar’ playing and he had his own style, that’s what all jazz pianists are aspiring too, anyhow!
OP was a swing man in the age of bebop and I'm guessing many jazz faculty were themselve brought up on the bebop diet as being the zenith of jazz. Of course OP was far more than simply a swing man. If you listen to all his output you hear a huge variety of playing adjustments in style but still authentically OP. I hope he gets his place in the canon of jazz piano pedegogy as it is well deserved.
I couldn't agree more! I think the current jazz faculty's obsession with bebop is the best explanation here. Bebop is awesome but it isn't the be-all end-all. There's no reason to malign Oscar for having swing influence.
its awesome you touched on bill evans. i think it'd be awesome of you to do a video focusing on bill evans' timbre and playing. there's that awesome story about bills birthday(?) in the kenny werner effortless mastery book that would be awesome to touch on!
Same as your opinion. I can’t tell if it’s a canned solo or a string of canned ideas. He is so advanced that I can’t tell. His blues-jazz work is also mind bending.
phenomenal pianist, especially from a technical point of view. It's weird, it's the first time I heard someone saying that he's snubbed. Usually I see him mentioned together with Tatum when there's the occasion to make a list of greatest jazz pianists (of the two, I like the harmonies and the left hand of Tatum and the right hand of Peterson). My personal point of view is that I find his playing aways enjoyable (much more than Tatum to be frank), the technique is out of this world, the music is pretty but maybe (for me) it doesn't have the depth of other pianists that I prefer like Andrew Hill (who was the opposite of a flashy pianist) or Herbie Nichols to name two. But mad respect in any case.
And think, Charlie Parker wished he could play like Tatum's right hand... I know Bud Powell gets most of the transfusion bop piano cred, just due to his associative proximity and (honestly surface level) similarities, but Oscar Peterson embodies, to me what Bird would sound like on piano, of course wrapped in a bundle of Nat Cole seasoning. :)
@@Hyperclefonical598 I'm not sure I agree, what I don't like about Tatum's right hand is that (to my ears and base on what I've listened) more than creating ideas with articulated, structured improvisation he was more "decorating" the melody, with those constant descending runs (that is what really I can't stand about Tatum, while I love his creativity with harmonies), and all at full speed. Bud Powell and Parker were instead creating elaborate melodies on the spot with also a very interesting rhytmic ideas. Peterson is great at that too, but he's a lot less neurotic than those bebop musicians, his music is maybe less complex harmonically but more happy and approachable
I was talking with a good friend jazz pianist John Hansen(Seattle), he and I were discussing how he, myself, and Larry Fuller, we all originally came out of Oscar Peterson. We all ended up branching differently to John goin down the Mulgrew Miller path, Larry down the Mont Alexander/Benny Green route, and myself down a blend of Monty/Cedar/Oscar/Barry/Horace/McCoy. The common thread was Oscar and his "Will To Swing" which is often considered out-of-date in many jazz circles and academia. Swinging is the hardest thing to figure out and get the feel. Once you get it in your playing it gets people tapping feet and bobbing heads and feeling good. Thanks Charles for your care in presenting this important and oft ignored legend. Please cover Sonny Clark, Hampton Hawes, Ray Bryant, Monty Alexander, and Terry Pollard if you can as well. They are very deserving if attention. They seem to get ignored too.
I saw OP in live performance at college, during which he masterfully guided us on tour of jazz pianist, past and present. Much like you did in this video, he reveal pianistic vocabulary unique to each, which was a clear demonstration to me that he had mastered the language. This aside, the performance was Olympian, subtle, and beautiful. Only one other time have I been taken to such musical heights and that was while attending a live performance of the Chicago symphony lead by the incomparable Sir George Solti. Nice Have you ever considered that improvisation in its purist form is a myth? Just asking. The science behind memory and performance suggests it may be.
Was this the case for any of you? During my time in school, Oscar almost felt weirdly "shunned" in a way. Almost like he was too cliche to be cool or something. I don't know, it drove me nuts because Oscar is literally the reason I play the piano. What was your experience in school?
I recently went on my arc of discovering Art Tatum and all of his works last year. It was the most transformative time for me since discovering Jordan Rudess. I can say I see the resemblance in the way they Art and Oscar are both viewed, being the GOATs.
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I can't wait to start a similar journey through Oscars music, having seen him on your channel multiple times now.
Charles, I would love to hear what you would recommend for me to jam to on my channel, it's made up of recommendations from everyone and then stuff I kike. That link is Arts rendition of You're Mine You, to give you an idea of what I'd do. I always loved the idea of shredding a synth over these types of songs especially to beef up the chops and learn new licks/ideas, so this is my way of doing it I guess. Having perfect pitch like they did also helps some.
A music teacher I really disliked is who introduced me to Oscar Peterson's C Jam Blues, and I was so impressed with what he was doing that I was a fan immediately. Best thing I ever learned from him.
I did not have the same experience. We did know the instructors' favourite music and musicians because he would really light up, but he was just as enthusiastic about all of them.
I got my bachelors in music from a liberal arts college with a music department that didn't put much emphasis on jazz. Art Tatum and Fats Waller were the only two pianists my music history professor really covered. I wasn't a piano major, so for those students the experience might have been different. This was all many years ago as well. It might all be different now. (I hope it is!)
I've just completed my first year studying piano and I love him! Now I'm transcribing C Jam Blues from Night Train because it's been stuck in my head since I first heard it
Why is nobody mentioning how fluidly Charles is transcribing those licks!? Sheesh 😅🔥🔥
Effortlessly
He didn't do it on the spot, movie magic, video editing, planning, etc.
Everything bad is cut from the video, like skate videos
@@selfactualizer2099yeah but still he then says “something like that” so it’s not completely prepared
Because im not here for charles... duh?
@@modernmusicofthedarkages296😅
One of the things you can’t overlook in any conversation about OP’s musicality is his class as an accompanist. Go back and listen to those old Ella and Louis albums- I’d argue they wouldn’t be the timeless albums that they are without the incredible support of Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.
What you said!!!
Yes. His accompaniment skills and ballad playing are even more impressive than his up-tempo playing.
which is really saying something
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Yes yes yes this
Oscar Peterson was my first influence at the piano, in 1978. I was 12, and I didn't even know what Jazz was. I was studying classical music, Bach, Chopin, Liszt.... But when I heard the Oscar Peterson trio, I couldn't sleep for 3 days, amazed, mesmerized, trying to decipher that incredible music. And I still study him a lot. He's one of the greatest. Soon, I discovered other wonderful guys, like Bill Evans and his marvelous harmonies... Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, and many others. Oscar Peterson style is unique, and can be recognized instantly. He comes from another jazz genius, which is the great Art Tatum. 🎉🎉❤
Listening Bill Evans is like listening Debussy playing jazz
Wow, you have diverse tastes. I recognize that profile picture for commenting on dozens of Scriabin videos.
Bebop requires toolbox phrases. Nobody invents anything at 300 bpm. Study any bebop great from Parker to Powell and you hear many similar phrases. I've always thought of Tatum and Peterson as my favs because their style is just mesmerising!
Nobody could improvise introductions like Bud Powell. Listen to multiple takes of a tune like Reets and I. His imagination was boundless. Oscar plays a lot of blues cliches, beautifully executed, but the two aren’t comparable.
Part of it is taste, and that’s fine. Oscar was always old school; he never changed much and was around a long time, stylistically he just fell further and further behind the cutting edge.
Part of it is image; someone like Bill Evans is definitely “cooler” in the sense of being aloof, taking lots of drugs, etc.
And part of it is that it is a lot easier to see yourself playing like Bill Evans than it is to see yourself playing like Oscar, because to play like Oscar is all but impossible. I really haven’t heard anyone do it convincingly, while I have heard many people do a pretty good Bill Evans. Why would you want to try to imitate someone when you would only ever be a second-rate version? Not that jazz is about imitating others-to the contrary, everyone looks for their own “voice”-but the things that made Oscar Oscar, i.e. the sheer bloody dexterity and the ability to string ideas together so quickly, are almost impossible to match.
And yes, from time to time Oscar needed to coast for a few bars on some stock riff-and all the jazz purists yell “aha!”-but JESUS CHRIST MAN, he just strung together 60 bars of seamless licks at 200 frickin miles an hour and sweat is pouring off his face, is it ok with you if he takes a goddamned breather??! So many other guys are clearly thinking every bar; with Oscar half the fun is wondering where the hell the notes are coming from
very well said!
Jesus Molina sometimes does sort of the Oscar thing. I've seen/heard Domi do that too. I can picture the video, but I don't remember where to find it. The Molina one I was thinking of was a NAMM video, where people were expecting him to show off and be flashy - it was totally appropriate for the context, just like when Peterson did it. Someone else mentioned Hiromi, but I couldnt
...I couldn't remember a specific moment when I thought Hiromi was "doing the Oscar thing"... but that just speaks to my limited knowledge of her body of work, not to any limitation on her part.
Totally agree, especially regarding taste. It's like Wynton Marsalis - I'm not really a fan of big band (prefer '-tets'!) and Wynton has a particular idea of what jazz is so you could say he is not 'cutting edge', but there's no denying that he and his band members are all very good at their craft - but there is a 'formula' to their style and they do it very well.
@JohnSmith-oe5kxx BRAVO 👏🏻! Couldn’t have said it better myself. 😆THANK YOU. OSCAR ( my pianos name) is the greatest amongst the phenomenal other jazz musicians around. ( in my opinion’And slowly they are ‘going home’. My Godfather is/was RIP UNC) Senator Eugene Right)- l was an embryo when l first heard jazz & classical. Dave Brubeck with my DAD, was the first gig l went to. I was 3! And l remember so much of it. Sorry, l get carried away a bit sometimes! But THANK YOU SO for sharing your knowledge with people. Much appreciated! 👍🏽🎹✨
Bruh, Oscar is the best. I don't get how you can say that he just plays random flashy licks, his lines are some of the most well constructed (purposeful note choice) I've heard.
Oscar Peterson and Sonny Stitt are my two favorite jazz artists of all time. That said, in terms of sheer skill, Tatum and Bird were better. It's just that I PREFER Peterson and Stitt, musically.
@@chestermarcol3831🤔👀🙄
The most spontaneous and free-spirited performance that I know is probably Nica's Dream by Oscar Peterson. There is a part where he has a false start to a lick and then repeats the start. It is reminiscent of record scratching before that was a thing.
I was fortunate enough to meet Oscar. He was a funny and sweet man, and an astounding player.
The great Bill Evans was a truly creative improviser. Listen to the entire Portrait In Jazz trio album - I don't hear any repeated studied licks - its pure melodic, harmonic and rhythmic invention when he solos. In this he was truly the exception. Sure Oscar did use a lot of licks that came readily to his hands (like most jazz soloists) - its not taking anything away from him as far as being a great pianist. The thing I most appreciate about him is his arrangements. I wish Wynton Kelly or Sonny Clark had taken the same care when they were leading trios.
Oscar was the best jazz pianist ever. I discovered him in college around 1970 and never quit listening to him. He still lives on today by his inspiration of today's pianist like Hiromi Uehara.
It must be mentioned how brilliantly Oscar plays rhythmically through his melodic lines. His touch is both delicate and powerful at the same time bringing those lines to life with perfectly placed accents. His powerful swing is a great joy to me and inspires me as I play along on the drums.
Right, what you said is both true, very observant and completely provable. I’ve been playing jazz piano for 45 years. Whenever I slow down many of his solos the thing that catches my attention is that his notes are both powerful and lighting fast ALL at the same time!! But notice also that each note can be identified and is CRYSTAL CLEAR! In other words his dexterity, articulation and technique was such that he could play hard, fast and articulate each and every note at unbelievable speeds! His finger autonomy is unrivaled..
When I observe most every other jazz pianist playing fast, their notes sometimes blur together, meaning that there is some overlap occurring at blistering speeds and the fingers are kinda of holding on to the preceding notes before letting go.
To my knowledge he does this better than any other jazz pianist that has ever lived!
Peace’
Oscar Peterson is perhaps my favorite Jazz Pianist. I feel happy when I hear him play, and often laugh out loud with delight at his genius, musicality, and virtuosity. I absolutely love the way he played. 😎
I was only part of a jazz program at university for a year, but we talked about Oscar all the time lol I’m absolutely baffled that he isn’t universally praised
He wasn't even mentioned in the Ken Burns film, if I'm not mistaken.
@@godisbollockshaha
@@-solidsnake- What's funny about that? When a film is 19 hours long, you expect it to be very thorough. And it was, but Oscar didn't get a mention.
He is!
@@paulrhodesquinn Miles slandered him quite extensively.
I think what makes this style of playing work or not work is how much feeling you are able to put into the music. Oscar's music sounds so vibrant and compelling because he swings so hard and has such a sense of joy in his playing. Another player who knew all the notes but didn't have the same feeling wouldn't sound nearly as good. Great video. Good to add some new verbal vocabulary about musical vocabulary.
In an interview Oscar talked about pianists that he liked and started playing phrases of them and showing us their styles. To me this showed that he isn't just someone who plays simple fast repetitve lines as hater like to describe him. His understanding of jazz is still beyond anything of ours. Whenever he covers songs he maintains respectful towards the componists and then adds his own flavour which really showed that he nails it
I saw that. And nailed them all. His imitation of Errol Garner was deadly, and Garner, IMO was a pretty good reach, stylistcally for him.
Dick Cavett interview. Fantastic.
@@user-ig7nq7pc7k the times when tv seemed to be legit. the way dick cavett prepared for the interview was awesome
He produces very beautiful notes, the essence of music is how beautiful you create the notes. For me he is like Chopin in jazz packaging
Nicknamed the "Maharaja Of The Keyboard" by the iconic Duke Ellington,
The fact Oscar always sings what he’s playing shows he doesn’t just care about sounding flashy.
All the best improvisors sing, so I completely agree with you.
OP is the GOAT. His technique and approaches to the many different songs he plays always seems to be wonderfully unique. His take on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" opened my eyes as a novice jazz pianist to the wonders of structure, form and even simplicity in solo lines.
Great points!
If anyone thinks Oscar ONLY had "pre-packaged" licks needs to listen to his work as an ACCOMPANIST, with people like Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald and Lester Young... recordings where he takes much of his flash and puts it in his back pocket to serve the greater good of the music. Oscar had the ability to contain himself out of respect for the music and especially his fellow artists.
Highly recommend the anime opening "Cry Baby" by Official Hige Dandism. Man you'll LOVE breaking down the chord progressions!!
YES! Especially since he already did a video on the Spy x Family opening from the same band and loved the progressions
yes please!!!! as a pianist he'll love it
@ssjgoku8619 he'll get hooked in the first few seconds I just want him to enjoy it 😫
@CharlesCornellStudios pleasssse u won't regret it
Charles you are indeed VERY TALENTED and a freaking magician on the keys. I love hearing you play in addition to your perspective. Thank you again and again!!
I really think you should do an interview with Diana Krall about jazz vocabulary since she studied with him. It would be great to have you two sitting at the piano talking about Oscar.
Also, Robi Botos!
What a charming tribute. Oscar was my hero as a youngster. I saved paper route money to buy every one of his records on Pablo. Revisiting this decades later, I’m impressed with the deep dive and salivating to give it a go again myself. Far out.
Not a musician, but real fan of just about everything. Oscar's one of top favorite. ❤
To me, even if you can only play hot cross buns on the piano you are a musician
@@jonahcoffman3078 "Bone sweet Bone" at age 6! 😄😄
This is unbelievable to me but now that I think of it, when I was in school, we never analyzed, transcribed, or really were taught about Peterson. It's odd to me, as he was the pianist that got me obsessed with jazz and eventually led me to study it. His work with Pedersen on bass and Joe Pass on guitar is incredible and that Count Basie duet is insane.
Had the privilege of hearing Oscar live in the late 70's. He's the best!
I saw him in London in I think 2005. A real honour.
Oscar was the greatest I have ever heard on record or live. Despite his fame he is under-rated. I had the priviledge of seeing him on is final Uk tour. An old man who could barely walk to the piano, sat down and the world opened up. You analysis is deep and I particularly liked where you mentioned that he is often on top of the beat. Same is true of the late (and equally great) Pat Martino who was notoriously on top of the beat. Your description of the lick v impro is equally exact, and equally applicable to Pat. Fact is, all jazz players have their licks. A native speaker of any human language has their figures of speach/cliches and, to be precise, that is what separates native speakers from fluent 2nd language speakers. Most of the jazz you hear is spoken by fluent 2nd language speakers. Why? Because what happens with a native speaker is seamless combination of cliches and original remarks. Fluent 2nd language speakers certainly sound different (ish) each time, but it is all sewn together. With native speakers, you don't feel that, and the reason is that the cliches fill the space between the new stuff seamlessly (haha - note use of repetition). That is what Oscar does. Improv is NOT about saying one new thing after another, it's about saying some old, some new, some borrowed, some blue - you, know, talking, not reading, not thinking and shoving out what you thought into speech. The last of these seems indistguishable from the first but it isn't; it's just fast prepared reading from an internal script. In other words, it isn't spontaneous. Cliches give you the time to say something spontaneous - like when I said ' you know' a couple of lines back, repeated 'native speaker', and so on. These are commonplaces of language that glue whatever original ideas are present together.
I like this analysis, but actually, using the notion of "language" with music is incorrect. I know I'll sound pedantic (but you started it with the language thing)! :) Music has phrases, but what are the nouns and adjectives of music. Is there subject-verb agreement? How do you decline a chord progression. When people start using the metaphor of "language" to describe things that aren't language, trouble starts. But language as the master-metaphor for reality is what happened in the 20th century, and maybe it's just an accident that there were some genocides that came along with it. It's a very dangerous corruption of human experience (even more so, once you start "writing" language). So, it would be helpful if you could redo your argument without having to resort to language as a metaphor. There is expression, not language, for instance. There is gesture that repeats. There is redundancy, which is not repetition, but simultaneous presentation of information in more than one channel (like a movie with subtitles, or a video with music). These things are more "general" for human expressiveness. Maybe the thing that people object to in Oscar is that his music IS too linguistic ultimately. Too linguistic, and not expressive enough.
Love this topic as it applies to every genre of music and every great player. Overtime all of us soloists build an arsenal of licks, and carry our bag of tricks. And we all find someone to criticize us for it. 😂
One of my favourite pieces is the recording of OP playing Tin Tin Deo with Ray Brown from 1964 and Ed Thigpen - the first time I heard it I had to repeat it several times. I still love it many, many years later.
One of the greatest aspects of OP was that SMILE! And when he would sing along while he was playing! I feel like his willingness to rely more on the "auto-pilot" stuff was part of what allowed him to smile and sing. And it meant you could see how much he was enjoying himself!
You can almost see the opposite of this when Charles, at 10:00 , switched from his natural vocabulary. When he forced himself to leave that behind and strike out with a different style, you could see the intense concentration that it took!
Some may appreciate that. But I will take OP, singing and smiling, any day over the others featured in this video! Art Tatum as the exception, of course. :)
Well if you loved his singing and smiling don't forget his sweating and grunting.
Im 100% on your team!! I see OP as a incredibly powerful persona - smiling, vocalizing, sweating! I think some people are drawn to dark and brooding players. I have so much love and respect for the light and majesty of OP!
As a huge Oscar Peterson fan, I'm so glad you made this video.
As a huge anti-communist, BLM needs to stop using the communist fist. 👍
word
The way you describe Harris’s playing make sense with the workshop I had the pleasure of attending decades ago. He showed us how to create lines that connected standard progressions. It sounds linear, but is completely about voice leading and going through the chord tones.
I met OP a few times when I was in school. We were warned when he was coming and told to not say to him, "Mr Peterson, you're the greatest jazz pianist ever!" Those who didn't heed the warning would be corrected - Art Tatum is the greatest jazz pianist - and dismissed.
That’s also what I came here to say.
@marike1100 hard disagree on the "carbon copy" statement. Oscar had his own distinct style. Yes the runs are similar but you don't have to listen Art and Oscar that much to recognize the obvious differences.
OZCAR PETERSON IS GOD! 👊🏾✨
I was also about to say this. He always deferred to Art Tatum
@@belindadrake5487I mean, he's pretty good, I guess. If you're into that sort of thing, I mean, which of course I'M not... but I try to find value even in bad opinions, so I won't badmouth the guy too much...
We're still pretending to be extreme music school caricatures and stereotypes, right? I was just trying to match the energy of your absurdity.
Oscar is/was amazing. Total improvisation is impossible; you are always stringing together known riffs in innovative ways. And listening to Oscar is just FUN; surprising, complicated, lots of references to his 'stride' roots, but always brings a smile! Thanks for picking these things apart; I couldn't do that on my own.
Brilliant video, Charles - and the enthusiasm is supreme. For me, OP puts a great big smile on my face - the others not so much. Enough said.
Oscar was my introduction to jazz. In my last year of high school, I had a friend who brought a record player and jazz records to school. I listened with him but didn't get it. Later, a drummer I worked with played me the Osccar, Ellis, and Brown trio, and I didn't even notice the lack of a drummer!. What I loved about it was the swing and somehow Oscar never loses you.
I agree 1000 percent! Oscar was the greatest ever. After all, he invented his style, his musical vocabulary, his brilliance, and, yes, his innovations in voicing as well as technique.
i was trained in classical music and over the years i’ve casually broke into jazz. i have never heard of this piano player before but as soon as i heard his sound i knew he was from the classical side. jazz is a language that i’m still learning. hearing the greats in jazz still feels over my head, like there’s patterns and ideas i’m not recognizing. his sound was different. it’s like it all clicked and i could understand the language better
Oscar Peterson to me is the most important pianist to come along since J.S. Bach, in that these two people were both able to 'crack the code' of harmony and seem to speak it as a pure language. Nobody else has been able since Peterson to marry classical and jazz so perfectly.
I am not a piano player, but I love the way you play and can explain what's happening!
Cheer,
Rik Spector
Me too. 👍🩵
the way he plays is why i listen to him. i love it
My BEAUTIFUL DAD ( who l lost 😣, was a jazz nut. I’ve heard all this l’ve heard jazz as an embryo) . You SHOULD NOT THINK when you improvise. Is it jealousy? He’s been my number ONE forever . Bill EVANS is my number 2! Naysayers miss out. Bad luck. I. WOULD keep my big mouth shut; coz people have different tastes. Jazz ( l’m a west coaster!) BUT! Emily Remler has an album called ‘EAST TO WES’. I met her, & she was tiny like me. We actually got on amazingly. We were honestly going to have a jam in a couple of days; but she passed away here in OZSTRALYA. I was shattered. 😢 She was so humble, so nice & brilliant. I digress; when HOLLYWOOD came into its prime, East coaster Musos left to go there; they needed musos. I AGREE WITH YOU 💯+%!!! OSCAR IS MY GO TO. My DAD 💔taught me so much about music. He is THE GREATEST to me- OSCAR & My DAD( DAD💔 who l ‘lost’ 3 years ago, & yesterday. 😰) My BEST FRIEND. Every Saturday, we’d listen to this brilliant music, have a whisky or 2, & he’d tell me & show me the most amazing things. Funnily enough, l am the only muso in my family. He left me over 17,000 vinyl, CDs, DVDs, & amazing sound system. I’m on my own now, as a jazz nut. I play & taught rock guitar. But my broken heart feels better when l see great people like you my Friend!! They are out there somewhere. I’ve decided l would be really rapt to play in a cocktail lounge now. I became very ill ( peripheral neuropathy & oesteoarthritis). BUT, l won’t stop. OSCAR IS ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST TO ME!) 🎹👊🏾✨
I followed this channel years ago for the funny speech-to-piano vids, and now I’m completely hooked on the jazz & music theory stuff, even though I don’t play anything myself.
Finally got recommended this but HONESTLY the man should indeed be taught. He wasn't just proficient in his own unique style, but also in the styles of the other greats of his time. His interview on the Dick Cavett show only re-enforces that.
Have you ever done a video analysis of Thelonious Monk? Would love to hear your insights on his idiosyncratic style of playing. I got into jazz as a teenager, but it wasn't until my 30s that I came to fully appreciate Monk. At first, all I could think was, "WTF am I listening to" but later, once I opened myself up to it, I recognized his genius. And now he's one of my favorite pianists to listen to.
Nice to see that Barry Harris solo on Just the Way You Look to Night mentioned, it is one of my favourite solos ever
We are all just stringing licks together. I love Oscar Peterson’s playing. Excellent video, thanks 👍
Oscar is one of the world's true greats. I believe that Hiromi Uehara got a LOT from studying Oscar. Re: playing prefab licks. My approach, when I just know that one of my prefab licks is coming up, is to somehow twist the rhythm around, or change a couple of notes. I often tell my guitar students that they should treat a lick just as they would a scale. That is, the lick should be a template from which a new or at least different lick can be built. I improvise often and as a result, I get tired of hearing my same old stuff. I deal with that by morphing my expected licks in real time in different ways.
100% perfectly stated.
Not everyone is aiming to "play like a virtuoso". But if you attain a very high level of craftsmanship there will be music critics who dismiss your musical choices as being too technical, predictable, and/or flashy. There is a huge Art Tatum influence on Oscar Peterson and that is frequently not considered as musically fashionable as Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, or Bud Powell.
Some people hear "amazing and spectacular" while others hear "over the top corny showmanship".
@@joshuamarks1129😅
Dude..... you're just showing off now. Love Ya man!!!!😊😊😊
For all his virtuosity, Oscar was essentially a Blues pianist, albeit one who could swing it like on one else. But his solos always descend into the 12-bar Blues idiom. Even his Bossa Nova sounds like Blues. When Bud Powell plays Blues, it sounds like Jazz. That's the difference.
If you're talking about turning everything into the blues, I have to disagree agree somewhat with you. That honor must go to pianist Gene Harris. Lol 😂. Although OP considered Gene Harris his favourite pianist. Big difference between the two: Oscar loved to rehearse, Gene didn't.
I disagree (to an extent) with your opinion on that, while it certainly is true that Oscar had a plethora of bluesy licks not all of his songs are bluesy by any means, for instance, “the night we called it a day”, his version of “yesterdays”, “I’m a fool to want you”, his live versions of “on green dolphin street”, “old folks”, “this nearly was mine”, the list goes on for ever, yes a lot of these are standards. Anyway, I think it’s easy to misunderstand his insane ability to play fast for blues licks, he certainly does play a lot of the blues idiom but that’s not all he plays, listen to those songs and I’m sure you’ll have more variety to your opinion. You’ll quickly learn that his harmonic capabilities are much more than you may have thought. Time to take a break from UA-cam, I’m gonna go surfing..
Yes, disagree. I’ve listened to jazz as an embryo. Being a professional muso, we all look for our own ‘signature sound’. Easier for guitarists ( l play both. One band piano, another band guitar. ) Everyone has an opinion. That’s fine. This is a hard business to be in. That’s why l take no notice of naysayers. Of course, l have my opinions too. Different strokes. ‘Everyone has an opinion like everyone has an arse…. ‘. It’s all good. Take care everyone; & stay well. 🎹🎸👍🏽😃
My friend, pentatonics are very ‘handy’. Isn’t that wot people learn first? Too scared to go outside the ‘box’! 🙄 Totally disagree. Are YOU a professional muso? I teach as well; & l firmly disagree with you. Bill Evans is my no 2. Oscar is numero uno. I couldn’t care less about wot naysayers say! Stay well! 🎹🎸👊🏾👑
And you sound goofy
OP was the best. I met him a few times and he was also a very kind and thoughtful person (in addition to being a spectacular musician).
Of the many fav albums Oscar has done, his "Nigerian Marketplace" has to be among the finest jazz piano albums ever. My fondest in-person memories of him, are when he used to come to Los Angeles and always stopped at his fav piano store nr. Beverly Hills, owned by David Abell. David and Oscar were very close friends and David was also a franchised Bosendorfer dealer, which Oscar also endorsed for many years. David also sold the latest digital pianos and synths which Oscar loved to buy so he could tinker with them in his home studio. I fondly remember standing just 6' away as Oscar tried out the recent grand pianos that had come in since his last visit. He was always very friendly and he knew all of us listening raptly, were piano fanatics who were thrilled and grateful to be be this close to the master musician from Canada.
Oskar Peterson sounded quite incredible, but so does your program. Thank you.
Night Train is one of my favourite jazz records, I have a copy on vinyl signed by the OP trio that my Great Grandad passed down to me. He played in Jazz clubs in London and met him when he played they played over here.
Thank you Charles for you presentation that makes sense!
On Spotify I am in the top 1% of Oscar Peterson listeners. My improvisation style is influenced strongly by his. I am so glad to finally hear him getting the recognition he deserves.
Same here!!!
Congrats🎉🎉🎉 on this one, I am sure this is what all Jazz musicians of past & present have done ( as mentioned) It's all prepackaged and the way we use it that makes it original... Keep up the great work kind regards Mr Robinson
Same this man is incredible and a legend that will inspire generations after generations
Hey Charles, I think you should definitely consider making a video about Chopin. He deserves a spotlight because he made significant contributions to piano techniques and harmony. While it might not be directly comparable to jazz, his innovations were a major step forward in the world of classical music. As someone who has analyzed a lot of old and classical music, I've concluded that Chopin's work has had an impact, albeit indirectly, on the evolution of jazz (polyrythms, phrasing, structure, harmonies that takes you to nowhere, not so often but still there: large chords, textures and so on). I also want to add that this man heavily influenced other composers such as Debussy and Rachmaninoff.
I recommend featuring some of his well-known pieces, such as Op. 10 No. 3, Op. 9 No. 2, Op 48 No 1, prelude in c minor, his Ballades (especially 1, 3, or 4), his Etudes, and "Winter Wind," among others. Chopin's music offers a rich and intriguing perspective and it would be dope to see you make a video about him.
Nahre Sol did this. Go check it out
Bro I’m just amazed and I’m awe of how you took apart these legends solo!!!
Great video, Charles! To me, the one element missing from this discussion is *ear*. When a jazz player improvises, it’s not just pre-packaged licks and “pure” improvisation; our fingers follow where our EAR takes us. (At least, I know I tend to feel like my playing is “truest” when I play that way, rather than the other way around.) But the limitation is that our ears naturally take us to familiar places. So sometimes I find that even when I follow the current of the music (instead of fighting it and trying to “fit” ideas to it), I ultimately wind up back in the same bag. As a result, my vocabulary is a closed loop - unless I do exactly what you recommend here: transcribe new stuff! So it’s not “pre-packaged “ and “pure improv”, really. It’s “let your ear guide your fingers” or “let you fingers guide your ear.”
The greatest ever. He is the gold standard to which I compare all others.
One of my all time favorites is Oscar Peterson Trio plus Clark Terry. Amazing album.
This guy's so right, and very helpful. Obviously, Peterson is reminiscent of Tatum, who was perceived as being a remnant of an earlier era, much like rachmaninoff versus the impressionists and the likes of early Prokofiev, Stravinsky or Shostakovich. As crazy as it sounds, I think he was underrated...
My Mum took me to see him at Middlesbrough town hall when I was 8 years old. Blew my mind! Loved him ever since 😁
Coming to this video after watching some old ones, I’m loving how your videos are looking and feeing recently
I think many things are like that, it comes down to "How big are the pieces you're building with". You can cook a packet of pasta with a jar of sauce, or you can make it all from scratch, down to grinding your own flour to roll your own pasta, or anywhere in between.
Some great software projects are mostly connecting up a bunch of existing tools and libraries, some are hand written in assembly. You can make your musical improvisation out of bigger chunks than others, that's valid.
I'm convinced! He's my fave! (two of my other faves are Ahmad Jamal and Chucho Valdes). Chucho is so fun to watch!
Haven't tuned into one of your videos in a while and man I'm glad I did. The production quality is so good
OP has always been my favorite jazz pianist!
Absolutely love Oscar’s playing, such a beast on the keys. Never forget the first time I heard The Astaire Blues off the compilation of tunes Oscar’s Finest Hour. As a young music aficionado I just loved hearing the technical facility coming out of Oscar. Everything he played was so smooth and swung so hard.
My take is the you are INCREDIBLE. You totally blow my mind.
The competition, in Oscar's day, and now, is so brutal, so many awesome pianists, arrangers, composers.
I love that you just posted this, because I listened to a bunch of Oscar Peterson just the other day. It was my first time really exploring his music and I very much enjoyed it.
Hey Charles
Awesome video! To me, Oscar is certainly at the very top of the discussion regarding the greatest jazz pianists and it's a shame he's not, or only briefly, mentioned in the jazz programs. The same goes for other great pianists that came a little before him like Fats Waller and so on. It'd be awesome if you could also do a video on them and discuss their style of playing since I think it gets overlooked a lot and Harlem stride is in my opinion one of the definitive solo piano styles.
Well done man. Very impressive breakdown.
The way I described it is his articulation is perfect. Like you said about his technique. 👑
Oscar is always a joy to listen to. He swings hard. He is so fluid. There is really no one else quite like him. He surpassed Tatum as far as I am concerned.
"It's allright by me" is my favorite track of his
I’m a guitar player and I got to say I love your channel, subscribed 4min into this video. Very informative and inspiring as well :) Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for making this video. I'm studying at a conservatory now and have the exact same frustration! I love Oscar and listen to him night and day...
Nice breakdown of vocabulary. Excellent video. Thank you. OP is an alpha.
Oscar is a masterful, beautiful improviser. Listen to night train, or hymn to freedom, or I’m in the mood for love live off of girl talk. Oscar could move you with ballads just as deeply as he does swinging at 350bpm. Why he isn’t talked about in the same conversations as a lot of the greats baffles me. I would even go as far as saying I don’t think anyone studying jazz piano hasn’t transcribed or studied or been influenced by Oscar in some way.
I agree with you. Oscar is supreme, regardless of his vocabulary or whatever else he throws in. Hard for me to believe anyone could do what he does.
Tons of comments here on an excellent video. Peterson's role in jazz for the whole of the second half of the twentieth is really beyond dispute. The scene for him was set by King Cole - not just a wonderful jazz pianist but a wonderful pianist who played jazz. He created a whole new style with emotion, clarity and swing. There are lots of videos of him playing on UA-cam. Give them a try!
Everyone has prefab licks. That's how people know it's you! I'd been listening to this great album by the trombonist Papo Vazquez. Loved the sax player on one track, but didn't look it up too much. Then I put on the Jaco Pastorius big band album a couple of months back. Same sax player! Michael Brecker :-)
Balance is in the eye, or ear of the beholder. Jazz isn't always about the notes, it also is about the pause, the ever so slight nuances staggered in a stroll or run, on any instrument being played. I adore OP playing, but if there are some naysayers, it's probably because his style fills most all the space of an improve. Much like conversation, no matter how interesting someone can be, if they leave no pause in conversation, it becomes monotonous.
charles you have gotten absolutely jacked! good job man
Great mini-lecture Charles, yes I’m sure you can hear those repeated patterns in many other pianists, such as Chick Corea, Herbie and even Keith Jarrett.
I love Oscar’ playing and he had his own style, that’s what all jazz pianists are aspiring too, anyhow!
So happy to see this. I was a Jazz Studies major in Uni back in the day and Oscar Peterson was my absolute favorite jazz pianist.
One of my fav's is Oscar Peterson version of Goodbye. The live version where he says, sinks teeth into. Mind blowing. It's on UA-cam.
Huge OP fan…he remains the master.
Great video!
OP was a swing man in the age of bebop and I'm guessing many jazz faculty were themselve brought up on the bebop diet as being the zenith of jazz. Of course OP was far more than simply a swing man. If you listen to all his output you hear a huge variety of playing adjustments in style but still authentically OP. I hope he gets his place in the canon of jazz piano pedegogy as it is well deserved.
I couldn't agree more! I think the current jazz faculty's obsession with bebop is the best explanation here. Bebop is awesome but it isn't the be-all end-all. There's no reason to malign Oscar for having swing influence.
So glad to see Charles doing a video on my favorite Jazz pianist
its awesome you touched on bill evans. i think it'd be awesome of you to do a video focusing on bill evans' timbre and playing. there's that awesome story about bills birthday(?) in the kenny werner effortless mastery book that would be awesome to touch on!
Same as your opinion. I can’t tell if it’s a canned solo or a string of canned ideas. He is so advanced that I can’t tell. His blues-jazz work is also mind bending.
phenomenal pianist, especially from a technical point of view. It's weird, it's the first time I heard someone saying that he's snubbed. Usually I see him mentioned together with Tatum when there's the occasion to make a list of greatest jazz pianists (of the two, I like the harmonies and the left hand of Tatum and the right hand of Peterson). My personal point of view is that I find his playing aways enjoyable (much more than Tatum to be frank), the technique is out of this world, the music is pretty but maybe (for me) it doesn't have the depth of other pianists that I prefer like Andrew Hill (who was the opposite of a flashy pianist) or Herbie Nichols to name two. But mad respect in any case.
And think, Charlie Parker wished he could play like Tatum's right hand...
I know Bud Powell gets most of the transfusion bop piano cred, just due to his associative proximity and (honestly surface level) similarities, but Oscar Peterson embodies, to me what Bird would sound like on piano, of course wrapped in a bundle of Nat Cole seasoning. :)
@@Hyperclefonical598 I'm not sure I agree, what I don't like about Tatum's right hand is that (to my ears and base on what I've listened) more than creating ideas with articulated, structured improvisation he was more "decorating" the melody, with those constant descending runs (that is what really I can't stand about Tatum, while I love his creativity with harmonies), and all at full speed. Bud Powell and Parker were instead creating elaborate melodies on the spot with also a very interesting rhytmic ideas. Peterson is great at that too, but he's a lot less neurotic than those bebop musicians, his music is maybe less complex harmonically but more happy and approachable
*absolutely rips out an amazing line*
"yeah I guess it's something like that"
I was talking with a good friend jazz pianist John Hansen(Seattle), he and I were discussing how he, myself, and Larry Fuller, we all originally came out of Oscar Peterson. We all ended up branching differently to John goin down the Mulgrew Miller path, Larry down the Mont Alexander/Benny Green route, and myself down a blend of Monty/Cedar/Oscar/Barry/Horace/McCoy. The common thread was Oscar and his "Will To Swing" which is often considered out-of-date in many jazz circles and academia. Swinging is the hardest thing to figure out and get the feel. Once you get it in your playing it gets people tapping feet and bobbing heads and feeling good.
Thanks Charles for your care in presenting this important and oft ignored legend. Please cover Sonny Clark, Hampton Hawes, Ray Bryant, Monty Alexander, and Terry Pollard if you can as well. They are very deserving if attention. They seem to get ignored too.
When you mentioned Hampton Hawes and Sonny Clark it was music to my ears.
I saw OP in live performance at college, during which he masterfully guided us on tour of jazz pianist, past and present. Much like you did in this video, he reveal pianistic vocabulary unique to each, which was a clear demonstration to me that he had mastered the language. This aside, the performance was Olympian, subtle, and beautiful. Only one other time have I been taken to such musical heights and that was while attending a live performance of the Chicago symphony lead by the incomparable Sir George Solti. Nice
Have you ever considered that improvisation in its purist form is a myth? Just asking. The science behind memory and performance suggests it may be.