Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOntwas a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, but simply "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honours. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists, and played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionPianist
Date of Birth15 August 1925
CityMontreal, Canada
CountryCanada
I don't do something because I think it will sell 30 million albums. I couldn't care less. If it sells one, it sells one.
I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea.
We're not like pop musicians who have to perform the same top ten tunes every night of a tour.
It's the group sound that's important, even when you're playing a solo.
If you have something to say of any worth then people will listen to you.
I'm a musician and, just as the critics are hard on me, I'm hard on the critics.
The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn't be able to do that.