Some 2,600 people at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall enjoyed an array of musical treats Saturday afternoon at a free tribute concert to the late jazz legend Oscar Peterson.

Eager fans, lining up as early as 5 a.m. ET, snapped up about 2,000 seats made available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Oscar Peterson died on Dec. 23 at age 82. He was praised as a 'maharajah of the keyboard' by the Governor General.
(CBC)

Oscar Peterson: Simply the Best featured music stars including Herbie Hancock, Audrey Morris, Nancy Wilson, Gregory Charles and Measha Brueggergosman, there to honour Peterson, who died at age 82 on Dec. 23.

Host Valerie Pringle kicked off the event, praising Peterson as a citizen of the world who championed human rights and who "really did love and not hate."

She also noted Peterson's valiant fight to get back to his music after suffering a stroke in 1993.

Pringle said Peterson was a "humble man" whose achievements included eight Grammys and numerous honours, including an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award and being named a Companion of the Order of Canada, both in 1997.

The audience was then treated to a video retrospective of Peterson.

Follow Peterson's lead Governor General urges

Governor General Michaëlle Jean hailed Peterson as a "titan of music" for his passionate performances and charitable efforts to support disenfranchised youth.

"Touted as the 'maharajah of the keyboard,' Oscar Peterson has left an indelible mark on the cultural heritage of the entire world," Jean said.

"He had an incredible ability to wow musicians and audiences alike with his dazzling artistic ingenuity."

The Governor General then urged the audience to embrace Peterson's positive, colour-blind approach to life.

"The world should follow Oscar Peterson by saying 'yes' to humanity and saying 'no' to social exclusion and human apathy."

'I owe him everything:' Herbie Hancock

The first musicians onstage were four long-time musical collaborators of Peterson: Jeff Hamilton on drums, Ulf Wakenius on guitar, Dave Young on bass and Monty Alexander on piano.

U.S. musician Herbie Hancock, seen here in December, paid tribute to Peterson at Saturday's concert. Hancock said that after hearing Peterson on an album, he changed his career from engineer to musician.
(Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

The quartet went through a blistering five-minute set that blended several of Peterson's swinging compositions. Their set yielded an enthusiastic response from the crowded hall.

Next up was U.S. musician Herbie Hancock, 67, who reflected on his early days in jazz, when he was in college.

"When I started becoming interested in jazz ... I heard a record, it was Jazz at the Philharmonic.... I said to myself, 'Who is that piano player?' Well, that piano player changed my life," said Hancock, who said he followed Peterson's career from that point on. He also credited Peterson with changing his career path — from engineer to musician.

'Your beautiful character and music will never die.'—Daughter Celine Peterson, 16

"I owe him everything, and he's irreplaceable."

Hancock, who collaborated with Peterson during the 1980s, went on to play a long, meditative piece on the piano, something Peterson had composed for his daughter Celine, as the packed hall went hush and still.

Liked peanut butter: daughter

Celine, Peterson's youngest daughter, spoke afterward, saying her father was there in the hall "in spirit."

"I admired everything that he accomplished and everything he stood for. He was so proud to be Canadian and more so, that he lived ... in Mississauga.  He was the person who told me never to let anyone judge me for what they saw."

Celine, 16, went on to say her father once put on a woman's dress, makeup and high heels to prove his point, causing a burst of laughter in the audience.

Celine recalled Peterson as the "best dad in the world," who liked to eat peanut butter for breakfast and was enthralled with his puppy dogs.

"Thank you dad ... for the endless adventures and the colourful nights," said Celine, who travelled to 19 countries with her dad. "Your beautiful character and music will never die."

Peterson embodied 'genius:' Quincy Jones

Quebec performer Gregory Charles came on and declared: "I could've been Oscar Peterson's son because my mom looooved Oscar." 

Quebec performer Gregory Charles said Peterson was a role model for him.
(Geoff Howe/Canadian Press)

Charles, host of the CBC radio program, In the Key of Charles, said his French Canadian mother was his first piano teacher and only listened to Peterson because "he swings!"

Charles, whose father hails from Trinidad, said Peterson was a role model.

"My dad said 'look at what he did. So, if he can do that, you can do anything you want.'"

The actor and choir director is a chart-topping artist in Quebec whose autobiographical one-man show, Noir et blanc (Black and White) was a hit, along with the subsequent CD of the show's music.

Stevie Wonder, who could not be at the event, sent a video, saying he wished he had a chance to record an album with Peterson.

"I am truly thankful to God that I was able to meet someone I had admired all my life," said Wonder who called Peterson the "world's greatest pianist."

'We'd all be lucky to have 10 per cent of what Oscar was as a human being.' —Quincy Jones

"[Oscar] played the piano so well you could hear the music sing and dance … I, along with millions and millions of people, will love you forever."

The event was lifted by the appearance of jazz impresario and musician Quincy Jones, who recalled being at Massey Hall with Charlie Parker as a 19-year-old trumpeter.

"Parker used to say 'just play it, don't say it,'" said Jones, as the audience chuckled.  

Jones compared Peterson's skill to "playing gun powder with sugar."

He said Peterson embodied genius because "genius involves sensation, feeling, believing, attachment and knowledge."

Jones, 74, said he was blessed to have had the love of Peterson and added that he also loved Toronto — "this is a fantastic city" — and its history of welcoming jazz musicians.

"We'd all be lucky to have 10 per cent of what Oscar was as a human being."

The tribute concluded with a performance of Peterson's Hymn to Freedom featuring Measha Brueggergosman and backed by the Faith Chorale, the Nathanial Dett Chorale and the University of Toronto Gospel Choir, all directed by pianist and CBC Radio host Andrew Craig.

Saturday's two-hour tribute show was broadcast live starting at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBC Radio One and Sirius 137.

The broadcast will be repeated at 8:05 p.m. ET on CBC Radio Two and Radio-Canada's Espace Musique channel.

With files from the Canadian Press