WNYC's Fishko Files: An Hour with Oscar Peterson
Series: WNYC's Fishko Files
From: WNYC
Length: 00:59:16
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During "An Hour with Oscar Peterson," this remarkable musician speaks about his childhood aspiration to be a trumpeter, cut short by tuberculosis ("I got to the piano, via the trumpet, via tuberculosis"), and his subsequent piano studies ("My elder sister Daisy went the classical way... and I was a renegade; I went the other way. I didn't know I was good, really; I just knew this was what I wanted to do.")
Peterson's reminiscences are interspersed with many archival recordings: listeners hear Peterson's Carnegie Hall debut performance, on September 18, 1949, when the 24-year old was a special guest at "Jazz at the Philharmonic," as well as a meditative rendition of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" from London's Royal Festival Hall in 1978; and "Lulu's Back In Town" recorded at the German villa of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer in 1968. During the hour, Peterson also shares his memories of jazz colleagues Art Tatum, Ray Brown, Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and others.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
During "An Hour with Oscar Peterson," this remarkable musician speaks about his childhood aspiration to be a trumpeter, cut short by tuberculosis ("I got to the piano, via the trumpet, via tuberculosis"), and his subsequent piano studies ("My elder sister Daisy went the classical way... and I was a renegade; I went the other way. I didn't know I was good, really; I just knew this was what I wanted to do.") Peterson's reminiscences are interspersed with many archival recordings: listeners hear Peterson's Carnegie Hall debut performance, on September 18, 1949, when the 24-year old was a special guest at "Jazz at the Philharmonic," as well as a meditative rendition of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" from London's Royal Festival Hall in 1978; and "Lulu's Back In Town" recorded at the German villa of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer in 1968. During the hour, Peterson also shares his memories of jazz colleagues Art Tatum, Ray Brown, Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and others.
Timing and Cues
Segment A, 31:14
Break, :59 with music
oc: you're listening to An Hour with Oscar Peterson, presented on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
Segment B, 26:57
oc: I was producer and host. I'm Sara Fishko, music ends, applause fade out.
Musical Works
1. Chicago Blues (1973)
from "The Trio"
Oscar Peterson, piano
Joe Pass, guitar
Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass
Pablo PACD 2310-701
2. Blues Etude,
from "The Trio"
Oscar Peterson, piano
Joe Pass, guitar
Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass
Pablo PACD 2310-701
3. Dvorak' Humoresque (1945)
from The Complete Young Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson, piano
Armand Samson, guitar
Bert Brown, bass
Roland Verdon, drums
Jazz Tribune No. 6, RCA 66609
4. Sunday (1955)
from The Oscar Peterson Trio at Zardi's
Oscar Peterson, piano
Ray Brown, bass
Herb Ellis, guitar
Pablo, 2PACD 2620-118
5. Norman Granz announcement and Fine and Dandy (1949)
from Jazz at the Philharmonic (1949)
Oscar Peterson, piano
Ray Brown, bass
The Complete Jazz at the Philharmonic, 1944-49, Verve set
6. Tiger Rag (1932)
from The Art of Tatum
Art Tatum, piano
ASV AJA 5164
7. Stormy Weather, Tatum, 1937, same as above
8. Tea for Two, Tatum, same as above
9. I Get Along Without You Very Well 1978
from The London Concert, 1978
Oscar Peterson, piano
(John Heard, bass
Louis Bellson, drums on other cuts)
Pablo, 2 PACD 2620-111
10. Noreen's Nocturne (1956)
from The O.P. Trio at the Stratford Festival
Oscar Peterson, piano
ay Brown, bass
Herb Ellis, guitar
Verve, 314-513-752
11. Seven Come Eleven (1952)
from The Essential Oscar Peterson, The Swinger
Oscar Peterson, piano
Ray Brown, bass
Barney Kessel, guitar
Verve 314-517-174
12. Lulu's Back in Town (1968)
from Exclusively for my Friends
Oscar Peterson, piano
rve 314-513-830
13. Easy Listenin' Blues (Cole, 1944)
from The Best of the Nat King Cole Trio
Nat King Cole, piano
Oscar Moore, guitar
Johnny Miller, bass
Capitol Jazz, CDP 7, 98288
14. Easy Listenin' Blues (Peterson, 1973)
from The Trio
See Number 1, above
15. Blues Etude
from The Trio
See Number 1, above
16. Bye Bye Blackbird (1968)
from Exclusively for my Friends
See Number 12, above
17. Blues for C.T. (1978)
from Oscar Peterson and Count Basie, Yessir Thats My Baby
Oscar Peterson, piano
Count Basie, piano
John Heard, bass
Louis Bellson, drums
18. I Hear Music (1975)
from Ella and Oscar
Ella Fitzgerald, vocal
Oscar Peterson, piano
Ray Brown, bass
Pablo, PACD 2310-759
19. You Look Good to Me (1977)
from Oscar Peterson and the Bassists, Montreux '77
Oscar Peterson, piano
Ray Brown, bass
Niels-Henning Orsted-Pedersen, bass
Pablo, OJCCD 383-2
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David Srebnik
Posted on January 09, 2008 at 02:39 AM | Permalink
Review of WNYC's Fishko Files: An Hour with Oscar Peterson
Sara Fishko gets into Oscar Peterson and his music right away. It's a classic grab you moment from the outset.
Ms Fishko recognizes the best way to "get" Oscar Peterson is to hear him play, pop in for a few seconds with a biographical highpoint, follow it with a Peterson sound bite or brief conversational back and forth, and then let the music fade up and establish itself once again.
There's a lot of insider language that surrounds the essence of music making, and it frequently is at the heart of radio's deadliest moments as we attempt to explain something so inside it's irrelevant or too inside that it's unexplainable. Some musicians talk well, and it's a program high point when Oscar Peterson explains what does it mean to play "pianistically."
Several historic Oscar Peterson events (most notably a devastating rendition of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" from London's Royal Festival Hall in 1978), endow this hour with special warmth and additional credibility.
While the reality of the music we play on the radio becoming background music is troubling in certain contexts, there can be background music programming of substance and purpose. This program will entertain and please listeners both in the background of their listening room or if they sit perched in front of their radio.
With his recent passing, the best programming option is the sooner the better. This includes after your evening news block, during the dinner hour and late evening. Weekends: all day and night.