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Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson with daughter Celine
and wife Kelly
Oscar Peterson in 1949
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The biography explores Peterson’s roots
in Montreal, and his upbringing by strict West Indian parents.
For the Petersons, music was an escape from poverty and a
dead end job in the railroad. Peterson’s drive to perfection
was nurtured early by an overbearing father who exhorted his
son to be “the best jazz pianist ever.” That drive
would take him from the dancehalls of Montreal to the concert
halls of the world, headlining with the legendary Jazz at
the Philharmonic.
But life on the road was tough. In candid interviews, Peterson
talks about how he escaped the addictions that destroyed so
many. He had promised his mother he would return home the
same son who’d left. “I always believed that your
instrument should be your needle and the music your addiction,”
he says. But like all addictions, this one took its toll—loneliness,
divorce and regret over lost time with his children. Now happily
married to fourth wife Kelly, and a doting father to 12-year-old
Celine, Peterson is enjoying the family life that so long
eluded him. It has sustained him through the worst crisis
of his life. In 1993, he suffered a stroke that almost ended
his career. He talks about the ensuing depression, wanting
to give up the piano and the slow, painful years of rehabilitation.
Today, at 78, Peterson is still performing. His refusal to
retire is completely in character—music is everything
to Oscar Emmanuel Peterson.
Original Air Date - November 25, 2003
Links
Oscar
Peterson (official Web site)
Oscar
Peterson: A Jazz Giant (from CBC Archives)
Oscar
Peterson (from the National Library of Canada)
Oscar
Peterson: The Road to Success (CBC.ca)
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external sites)
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