The music was so powerful, so propulsively swinging that fellow musicians found it hard to believe Monday that such a force of nature as Oscar Peterson had finally been stilled.
“It's hard for me to believe even now," said fellow pianist Hank Jones, a jazz legend in his own right. “I just thought Oscar would be around for another 100 years. This is one of the saddest days of my life."
Oscar Peterson, an icon of jazz piano in Canada and around the world, has died at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy of recordings replete with jaw-dropping virtuosity and legions of musicians trying to match his matchless sound.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Peterson a “technical and creative master" and credits his Canadiana Suite as a “signature element of the country's cultural fabric."
“Peterson was not simply a giant in Canadian music, but a giant in music period," Harper said in a statement released late Monday.
Peterson's flashing rivers of quicksilver runs were a big part of his sound, but when musicians talk about what made Peterson great they always eventually get around to rhythm.
“He just drove the whole bus," said Senator Tommy Banks, a jazz pianist who once played a duet version of “Satin Doll" with Peterson on a live TV broadcast.
“He was the kindest, gentlest, most forgiving person on the face of the earth, but when you sit down to paint next to Picasso it's fairly daunting. It was frightening.
“He generated enormous swing."
Composer and pianist Roger Kellaway was the musical director of a June 8 tribute to Peterson that featured luminaries such as pianist Marian McPartland and trumpeter Clark Terry.
“It's hard for me to believe even now," said fellow pianist Hank Jones, a jazz legend in his own right. “I just thought Oscar would be around for another 100 years. This is one of the saddest days of my life."
Oscar Peterson, an icon of jazz piano in Canada and around the world, has died at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy of recordings replete with jaw-dropping virtuosity and legions of musicians trying to match his matchless sound.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Peterson a “technical and creative master" and credits his Canadiana Suite as a “signature element of the country's cultural fabric."
“Peterson was not simply a giant in Canadian music, but a giant in music period," Harper said in a statement released late Monday.
Peterson's flashing rivers of quicksilver runs were a big part of his sound, but when musicians talk about what made Peterson great they always eventually get around to rhythm.
“He just drove the whole bus," said Senator Tommy Banks, a jazz pianist who once played a duet version of “Satin Doll" with Peterson on a live TV broadcast.
“He was the kindest, gentlest, most forgiving person on the face of the earth, but when you sit down to paint next to Picasso it's fairly daunting. It was frightening.
“He generated enormous swing."
Composer and pianist Roger Kellaway was the musical director of a June 8 tribute to Peterson that featured luminaries such as pianist Marian McPartland and trumpeter Clark Terry.
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