A Jazz Odyssey: The Life of Oscar Peterson

by Oscar Peterson

'I can't truthfully recall my first meeting with the piano,' begins Oscar Peterson's 'Jazz Odyssey', his long-awaited autobiography, which tells the full story of the world's most famous jazz pianist. Edited by Richard Palmer, it covers Peterson's childhood in Montreal, his meetings with giants such as Art Tatum, and his rapid rise to international stardom after appearing on 'Jazz at the Philharmonic'. As might be expected from such a great communicator, this is a beautifully written, candid account of a stellar career, with Peterson's down-to-earth attitude providing insights into his colleagues, his many recordings, his philosophy, and his long love affair with the piano.

Genres: Music, Jazz, Biography, Memoir, Canada

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Randall Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oscar is the only jazz piano player that all the classical cats admit to loving as well. One listen to Oscar’s “Give Me the Simple Life” from the CD “Tracks” will make anyone’s jaw drop. So, how was this book? Slow, but Oscar finally comes alive when discussing Billie Holiday on page 167. In short, partly because of her phrasing, only when Billie Holiday sang, could he believe the singer was making up the words then and there. Oscar also dug the strong sense of implied harmony of Stan Getz’s solos which enabled him “to soar over the rhythm section”. But aside from Oscar’s eloquent attacks on racism, bigotry and oppression, and the fact that he is very personable and likeable, this book is not that musically educational. I know what I wanted – how did Oscar come to play like that? How did his bluesy style evolve and why? Could he talk about altered harmony? His strong gospel influence? Use of locked hands voicings? Can we hear about the insane practice schedule and what worked best? Sadly, those musical questions remain unanswered. What you get instead are some nice genuinely funny and moving stories about musical giants he interacted with. The closest Oscar gets to imparting straight musical knowledge on the reader is near the end when in discussing developing solo piano playing he refers to “integrating both hands in a believable and innovative manner …with immaculate time.”

[Tyler Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading. Full of fun stories about the jazz greats, and interesting reflections on the experience of practicing and performing.

[Howard Mccullers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Tina Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read in reference to learning about one of the legends in the jazz world.

He talked about many of the great players, which were a part of his life, as well as, apart of the jazz community.

He spoke about his life, and the many things that influenced him and his way of playing. Oscar's personal experiences were filled with great stories and a huge amount of music knowledge that wasn't known before.

Due to Oscar being one of my most favorite jazz artists, this was an absolute awesome read!

Enjoy!

[Pamela York · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great personal account of Oscar's life, musically and personally. There is a section of the book devoted to other musicians and Oscar's interaction with them onstage and off. It's a must read for any jazz fan or musician. It's especially interesting to those who want to get inside Oscar's thinking, how he practiced, how he approached accompanying, etc.

[Hamish Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world's most recorded pianist has written an epic acount of his life within the jazz world. It is heartbreaking to read about some of the sacrifices he had to make to achieve greatness. Nevertheless, Oscar is an inspiration and a role model to generations of aspiring musicians. A true leader. - HD

[San · Rating 4 out of 5]

The emphasis that Peterson put on the relationships he fashioned through his life was a fine choice. When reading about the significant events in his life, I felt that the impact of every person he mentioned in each chapter. Very satisfying.

[Linus Wyrsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Peterson seems to have been equally eloquent on a computer keyboard as on a piano keyboard. A great read about Oscar’s life, but also paying tribute to others, including the many jazz greats he got to work with.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful autobiography by the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson..

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different sort of biography though Peterson did tend to repeat himself.

[Jesi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though it took me about two months to get through, A Jazz Odyssey was a pleasure to read. I walked away with a sense of Oscar Peterson not only as a spectacular musician, but a delightful person. Of course, I think we would all put our best foot forward when writing our own autobiographies, but Peterson doesn't shy away from sharing some of the less flattering parts of himself-- his poor money management and his difficulties in his marriages, for instance-- and yet, the overall picture is still of a warm-hearted, generous, good man.

A Jazz Odyssey proceeds more or less in chronological order and consists mostly of short vignettes about the different stages of Peterson's life and career. (This format makes it very easy to read the book in short bursts but somewhat difficult to really sink into, which is probably why it took me as long as it did.) Along the way, you get to hear his thoughts on just about every musician he ever collaborated with, and with one or two notable exceptions, he has nothing but the best things to say about them. (The book also includes a useful index of all the names he mentions, which came in handy more than a few times while I was reading.) I especially enjoyed his thoughts on the competitive, but ultimately friendly, spirit of the jazz scene: for example, this reflection on a night when the Oscar Peterson Trio shared a bill with the Dave Brubeck Quartet:

"My guys called for a meeting, and Ray [Brown] informed me that he had been elected as spokesperson to deliver a specific message-- that unless I laid some pianistic lumps on Dave, they would both give their notice...they replied that they would look after the rhythm section if I took care of Dave and Paul Desmond solo-wise. This kind of competitive spirit typified the jazz scene years ago. There was absolutely nothing sinister and vehement about it, but it meant that the audience got to enjoy the musical result of jazz people duelling with one another, locked in a creative war of ideas. ...There is no place in the world of true creativity for pettiness and shallow thoughts. The jazz medium is populated by a select group of truly talented people, and talent sustains itself simply by its need for growth and refinement, coupled with an unbiased curiosity to find out who is best of the best."

(Don't you wish you had been at that show??)

Given that the height of Peterson's career was smack in the middle of the 20th century, it's not surprising that he also has a lot to say about race relations, and I found those insights fascinating and valuable. To hear him tell it, race was mostly a non-issue within the jazz world itself; it seems that the best musicians wanted to work with the best musicians regardless of race and other personal differences. (I'm sure this wasn't 100% true across the board, but if Peterson ever had problems with any white jazz musicians, he doesn't mention them.) The rest of the world, however, was a different story, and that sometimes included club promoters, service staff, club patrons, etc. He has plenty of stories about shameful things that people said and did to him over the years, from putting him up in squalid motels while he was performing in the American South to blatantly insulting him. (There's also a juicy anecdote about a time when Ella Fitzgerald was subjected to racist heckling in the middle of a performance, and OP and a couple of other sizeable band members physically ejected the hecklers from the premises.) He also calls out less overt racism: "'Comfortable racism'... entails people unknowingly tolerating and perpetuating a form of behavior that has been accepted within a society, yet is racist and therefore absolutely unacceptable to millions of the world's citizens. Unless one fully confronts it, this form of insult and repression will continue to flourish."

Finally, Peterson takes a fairly dim view of the future of jazz, lamenting that there are dwindling opportunities for jazz musicians to get the kind of wide exposure that he enjoyed, and that jazz as an art form has yet to receive the recognition and respect it deserves. I wish I could say I disagree with him there, but the best I can do is hope that I see the situation improve in my lifetime. I'll see if I can't start that change by 1) buying every Oscar Peterson album I find in the wild, and 2) brushing up on contemporary jazz talents.

[Bill Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read!

[L.C. Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational memoir. I was privileged to have met the man, exchanged a few words, and had him autograph the book at the book signing at the flagsthip Indigo bookstore.