Friday December 11th, 2015 will go down as a very historic
moment for Koerner Hall, where they put on a concert to cement the ever-present
legacy of the great Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson.
This particular concert was a double edged sword of sorts, since it
served the dual purpose of unveiling two new exciting initiatives that will
further cement the legacy of Oscar for years to come. The first initiative was for Bosendorfer,
Oscar’s piano brand of choice, to unveil a signature piano dedicated to Oscar
Peterson. This particular brand of
piano has only 12 made in the entire world, and it features an electronic
initiative where it captures the player piano feel of an Oscar Peterson playing
his signature style in your own living room.
The other initiative is for the official release party of the 3CD
set “From Oscar With Love”, which involves 17 pianists performing all original
compositions never before recorded by Oscar or dedications for Oscar
Peterson. The goal of the project is to
zero in on Oscar’s work as a stellar composer, and one who is equaled to the
greatness of a Duke Ellington or a Thelonious Monk.
Among the many highlights was Robi Botos playing a very stellar
blues etude that showed the depth, the swing and the commanding presence that
he has on the piano; Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes doing a stellar and fun take
on my favourite Oscar Peterson piece “Sushi”; Robi transforming Oscar
Peterson’s classic installment from the Canadiana Suite “Wheatland” into an
impressionistic feature reminiscent of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans; Gerald
Clayton bringing the soul and gospel feeling into his style of playing in Oscar’s
classic civil rights standard “Hymn To Freedom”; and Benny Green showing off
his prodigious swing and command of the piano in his selections for Oscar. Kenny Barron also takes some consistent and
maturing turns honouring the legend, and Oliver Jones being his majestic,
controlled self along with accompaniment from bassist Dave Young.
In a night honouring a great jazz legend, I wanted to point out some
audience observations that made me concerned about the state of how jazz is
appreciated in its hometown. In a
mostly sold out audience, I noticed that in my age bracket there were only six
people in attendance. In another count,
I also counted about 5 people of Afro-Canadian descent attending the
program. On the CD front, it was a
really amazing and valiant effort by Kelly Peterson to put it together
independently, since record companies and major labels are shocking oblivious
and unwilling to put a tribute together to one of the most important musicians
to grace the Canadian cultural landscape.
From the sounds of what I experienced at Koerner Hall, it was a well
fitting tribute to one who made many sacrifices and crossed many bounds to get
where he had to go in life. Let’s just
hope that people young and old will hold on to the great legacy of Oscar
Peterson and remember the sheer artistic command and qualities he brought to
the jazz canon and bring it into the 21st century and beyond.
OSCAR WITH LOVE SITE:
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