If you’re an avid music lover, you’re surely familiar with the genre of jazz.
There’s some rather sultry laced amongst the improvised notes and driving tempos of jazz music.
Because of this, it’s a style all its own—and coincidentally, it has birthed many other styles in its own right. Music lovers can appreciate the improvisation that comes along with this genre. It reflects a true mastery of one’s instrument, as the notes ring out against complex and interesting rhythms. Jazz effectively works to paint a picture in your mind—it communicates something curious, thoughtful, immediate and joyful. It’s something to experience, something living, breathing and in the moment.
With this type of music, the rules are made to be broken, bent and curved anyway the musician sees fit. It makes for a pleasurable listen, something both provoking and endlessly entertaining.
Take Oscar Peterson, for example.
For those who are unfamiliar, he was a highly-honored jazz pianist from Canada.
Born in the 1920s, Peterson grew up in Montreal and began playing piano at age five. He flourished in his art and went on to become a prolific recording artist and composer. Aside from solo releases, he appeared on a wide variety of albums with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.
Peterson’s piano hands earned him quite a reputation.
Some grow into their role with ease, making it almost seem effortless. This was overwhelmingly the case for Peterson.
According to the Canadian Encylopedia:
“Oscar Peterson is one of Canada’s most honored musicians. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was renowned for his remarkable speed and dexterity, meticulous and ornate technique, and dazzling, swinging style. He earned the nicknames “the brown bomber of boogie-woogie” and “master of swing.”
So it’s no surprise he completely stole the show away in a 1964 performance in Denmark.
In this video, which is a purely delightful throwback, the Oscar Peterson Trio appears in tight form.
His trio consists of him on the piano, Ray Brown on the bass, and Ed Thigpen on the drums.
Together, the trio creates an amazing atmosphere, performing a brilliant rendition of Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues.”
This video displays true mastery, which Peterson displays with style and grace.
This classic jazz standard is extended for a whopping nine minutes, with all elements on display.
As Peterson’s hands fly across the keys, approaching the standards at rapid speeds, he simultaneously expands the song minute after minute. With a heated and passionate introduction, the real song doesn’t really even start until about three minutes in.
One watch and you’ll undoubtedly get a taste for jazz!
His poise easily fascinates any viewer, and it’s no surprise that this classic and legendary performance has caught the internet’s eye.
With more than nine million views and 81,000 likes, it’s clear the fire, spirit and passion for jazz is alive and well.
With such immaculate synchronicity, many have commented, offering up their adoration:
“Three talented men having a tasty, tight, delicious, intimate, unspoken conversation.”
Another stating:
“The piano professor in my university (who is an amazing piano master) said that he listens to Oscar Peterson to humble himself.”
Ready to dive head-first into a delicious inferno of jazz? Check out this dazzling performance for yourself in the video below!
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