It's hard to believe that Oscar Peterson had arthritis from the time he was a child. You'd never know it from his extraordinary hands and dexterity. In addition, he won a total of seven Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award—quite a haul. Also remarkable is that he won the Order of Canada twice—once as an Officer in 1972 and again in 1984 as a Companion, the highest rank awarded to those who have contributed the most to humanity and burnished Canada's reputation. But wait, there's more.
In 1993, Peterson had a stroke in New York, which compromised his left hand. A year later, he was performing in Munich, Germany, while on a European tour, to resounding audience applause. The concert has never before been released but now is available as City Lights:The Oscar Peterson Quartet Live in Munich 1994 (Mack Avenue). Peterson had reached another one of his playing peaks.
Joined by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (b), Lorne Lofsky (g) and Martin Drew (d), Peterson played five lovely original pieces, an original by Pedersen and three standards. After surviving the decade's electronic jazz revolution, Peterson in 1994 was still at the forefront of the acoustic jazz revival.
The tracks:
- There Will Never Be Another You
- The Gentle Waltz (Oscar Peterson)
- Kelly's Blues (Peterson)
- Love Ballade (Peterson)
- City Lights (Peterson)
- You Look Good to Me
- Samba Petite (Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen)
- Satin Doll
- Nighttime (Peterson)
What I love most about this album is its warm, gentle quality. Peterson slowed down his lightening fast runs on the keyboard, giving listeners more breathing room to absorb his mastery. I find his approach here much more intellectually interesting than the jolts of excitement produced by his breakneck attack.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of fireworks (on You Look Good to Me, for example), but speed isn't his default here. Instead, we are presented with a more measured pace and lots of gorgeous music. Add to the list of Peterson's accomplishments clicked off in my first paragraph that he also was an exceptional composer.
Oscar Peterson died in 2007 at age 82.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find City Lights: The Oscar Peterson Quartet Live in Munich 1994 (Mack Avenue) here and on streaming platforms.
JazzWax clips: Here's the effervescently beautiful Love Ballade...
And here's City Lights...
