Peterson, Oscar

OSCAR PETERSON (1925-2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He is considered by many music critics to be one of the best pianists of all time. His music is full of swing and jazz improvisations. He started learning piano at the age of five and soon fell under the spell of jazz and especially boogie-woogie. By the age of nine, he was playing in such a way that he was an equal among professionals. For many years he practiced four to six hours a day and only in his later years did he reduce his daily practice to one to two hours. In 1997, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the International Jazz Hall of Fame Award, which ranks him among the greatest jazz players of all time.