Jazz Compositions » "Bossa Beguine"

"Bossa Beguine" is a jazz composition written by the legendary pianist/composer Oscar Peterson. I couldn't find detailed information on web about when/where/how/etc. did Oscar Peterson composed this piece.

Probably it first appeared on the album: "Oscar Peterson - Blues Etude (PolyGram)." According to the liner notes of this album, track was recorded December 3, 1965 (Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, Louis Hayes on drums) and published by Tomi Music Company (BMI).

Videos » Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen:C Jam Blues (1964)

"C-Jam Blues"

Oscar Peterson - piano

Ray Brown - bass

Ed Thigpen - drums

Live in Denmark,1964

Oscar Peterson's official website:

~www.oscarpeterson.com

Ed Thigpen's official website:

~www.edthigpen.com

Interviews » Oscar Peterson interview with Joe Pass (1980, BBC-four)

Legendary pianist Oscar Peterson talks & discusses with great guitarist Joe Pass in this TV show.

A solo performance of Joe Pass' and also an "April in Paris" performance of Count Basie Orchestra's are present in this video.

Quoted from one of the BBC-four programs.

Oscar Peterson's official website:
~www.oscarpeterson.com

Videos » Oscar Peterson with Joe Pass - Just Friends

"Just Friends"

Oscar Peterson - piano

Joe Pass - guitar

Niels H.Ø. Pedersen - bass

Martin Drew - drums

(quoted from a TV program, 1980)

Articles » Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen,by Oscar Peterson (~jazztimes.com)

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Double Bassist (May 27, 1946 – April 19, 2005)
By Oscar Peterson

From the first night that my dear friend Audrey Genovese of Chicago played a Dexter Gordon record that featured Niels Pedersen on bass, I realized that this musical giant and I might someday have the pleasure and occasion of not just meeting but also playing together.

After hearing this phenomenal talent on bass, I realized that somehow, someday we should meet, thereby giving me the opportunity to also play with him. This vision and thought took place in the early 1970s, when I was fortunate enough to be able to invite him to join my then trio. This came about due to the fact that the bassist I was using at that time could not return to his home country in Europe because he was worried that he would be detained by the Soviet Union, due to his behavior at some embassy function. Norman Granz entered the picture and, with his usual directional thinking, simply said, "Why don't you use Niels Pedersen?" for an upcoming concert that my group had in one of the then Iron Curtain countries.

Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007, Pianist/Composer

Official Website of Oscar Peterson: ~www.oscarpeterson.com

Articles: "Oscar Peterson explains the difference between classical and jazz players"

Oscar Peterson explains the difference between
classical and jazz players;

Oscar Peterson is a classically-trained pianist; what made him turn to jazz instead? In 1979, he offered these insights during a Dutch TV interview with Pim Jacobs:

"A classical player is an interpreter. He is not allowed to change the notes, he is allowed to give expression and articulation to those notes. A jazz player looks at a composition and says: '-It's beautiful - this is how I fell about this piece', and starts to improvise. The philosophy of jazz to me is to be able to react to a song or a tune that you like and to instantly compose your musical opinion of that tune. Jazz is instant composition, instant emotional composing."

'Instant emotional composing' is not everyone's cup of tea. I know outstanding musicians who, like Oscar, have total command of their instrument, but cannot improvise convincingly because they have not got the soul and the flexibility of mind for it, nor the intuition that guides the hands.

-Arnold van Kampen (translated by Jörg Eipasch)
(Arnold Van Kampen presents several jazz shows on Dutch radio and is the author of many publications on jazz in The Netherlands. His "Complete Oscar Peterson Discography" is to be published shortly.)

__________________________

Quoted from the liner notes of the album "Oscar Peterson - Two Originals", MPS, 1996

Album Details & Buy: ~amazon.com

Videos » Oscar Peterson: Keeping the Groove Alive (Documentary)

A 53 minute documentary on Oscar Peterson with some rare archival footage and short interviews with many people: Benny Green (jazz musician), Celine Peterson (daughter of O.P.), Diana Krall (jazz musician), Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Kelly Peterson (4th wife of O.P.), Lynn Spinney (daughter of O.P.), Martin Drew (drummer), May Peterson (sister of O.P.), Maynard Ferguson, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (bassist), Paul de Marky (piano teacher of O.P.), Phil Nimmons (composer/musician), and much more.

Produced by: ~GAPC Entertainment Inc.

Videos: Oscar Peterson - Caravan (1986)

Oscar Peterson - piano

Niels Henning O. Pedersen - bass

Martin Drew - drums

Interviews: Oscar Peterson / Bob Edwards; February 21, 2003 (~npr.org)

Bob Edwards interview with Oscar Peterson
February 21, 2003

As a youngster, Oscar Peterson remembers sneaking downstairs while his parents slept to listen to the radio. "[I] put my ear right to the speaker and listen to Duke (Ellington) and (Count) Basie and Artie Shaw," the legendary jazz pianist tells NPR's Bob Edwards in a Morning Edition interview. "The volume would be way, way down low so I wouldn't wake my parents... and I'd be ingesting all this wonderful music."

Peterson says he studied those artists and even played along with their records "so that when I had to play with them in person, I sort of had a bit of a jump on their musical personality."

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Listen from » ~NPR media player

Article Webpage: ~www.npr.org

Articles: "Oscar Peterson In Our Words"

"Oscar Peterson In Our Words"


~www.oscarpeterson.com
Selected comments from Oscar Peterson fans,





Some times I am exhausted and some times in dream land ~Luke
Oscar, there is not an amusement park in the world that could take me for a ride like you have. Just when I think the ride is over I am zoomed off to outer space all over again.You have done such wonderful things to my mind. You have taken me to places that no other musician on any instrument could do.Thank you and God for all the wonderful moments you have given me.

Family ~freya
I was lucky enough to have grown up with Oscar's first family, Lynn, Gale, Sharon Norman and Oscar. I am wondering why there is no mention of this important part of his life. Oscar taught me to play chopsticks on his piano at home, in his studio.His wife made the best chili ever, that was my first introduction to a black family, and because of their hospitality and love, I grew up colour blind.RIP Sharon and Oscar.

OP ~Yeoman
Quite simply the very best ever! Sadly missed!

Videos: Oscar Peterson & Friends (from a TV show - date unknown)

Biography: Oscar Peterson (~www.oscarpeterson.com)

Oscar Peterson was born August 15, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were immigrants from the British West Indies and Virgin Islands. His father, Daniel Peterson, was boatswain on a merchant ship when he met Olivia John in Montreal, where she worked as a cook and housekeeper for an English family. Daniel gave up the sailing work and began working as a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He and Olivia married and stayed in Montreal as their family grew.

Oscar was the fourth of five children. Their father insisted that they all learn a musical instrument, and Oscar began to study the trumpet. A childhood bout of tuberculosis forced a fortuitous switch to the piano, under the tutelage of his father and his older sister, Daisy. It soon became apparent that Oscar’s talent surpassed the capabilities of home teaching, and he was sent first to teacher Lou Hooper and then to the gifted Hungarian classical pianist, Paul deMarky. A warm and respectful musical friendship developed between the two, and with Mr. deMarky’s guidance Oscar’s mastery of the instrument grew, along with his dedication to and command of his talent.

Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007, Pianist/Composer

Oscar Peterson, 1925-2007, Pianist/Composer

Oscar Peterson's official website: ~www.oscarpeterson.com