Jazz world's farewell to piano legend Peterson, 82

HIS speedy fingers, melodic inventiveness and swinging style saw him become one of the most influential and best-known jazz pianists of all-time.

During an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Oscar Peterson played with the biggest names in the business, from Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker to Dizzy Gillespie and Nat "King" Cole.

It is little wonder that tributes have flooded in from the jazz world since the 82-year-old Canadian died at his home in Toronto on Sunday.

Peterson, famous for his fast-playing virtuoso style, was one of jazz's most recorded musicians. He made more than 200 albums and won eight Grammy awards, including a lifetime achievement honour in 1997.

He was probably best remembered for the trio he led with Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellie on guitar in the 1950s.

Peterson's stature was reflected in the admiration of his peers. Duke Ellington referred to him as the "Maharajah of the keyboard", while Count Basie once said: "Oscar Peterson plays the best ivory box I've ever heard."

Peterson received all of Canada's highest honours and was the first living Canadian to be depicted on a stamp. Streets, squares, concert halls and schools have been named after him in Canada.

Herbie Hancock, another legendary jazz pianist, said Peterson's impact was profound.

"Oscar Peterson redefined swing for modern jazz pianists for the latter half of the 20th century up until today.

"I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. He mastered the balance between technique, hard blues grooving and tenderness. No-one will ever be able to take his place."

The Canadian singer-pianist Diana Krall said: "In my high school yearbook it says that my goal is to become a jazz pianist like Oscar Peterson. I didn't know then we'd become such close friends over the years. We were together at his house in October, playing and singing songs. It's almost impossible for me to think of him in the past tense."

Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, called Peterson a "technical and creative master" who "was a giant in music".

British saxophonist Sir John Dankworth, who also worked with him, said: "Oscar was a wonderful example of jazz at its best."

CANADIAN SENSATION

BORN on 15 August, 1925, in a poor neighbourhood of Montreal, Peterson got his passion for music from his father, Daniel, a railway porter and self-taught pianist.

When Oscar was five, he learned to play the trumpet and piano, but after suffering tuberculosis, he opted for keyboards.

During his high school years, Oscar studied with Paul de Marky, a Hungarian-born classical pianist who helped develop his technique and "speedy fingers".

He became a teenage sensation in Canada, playing in dance bands and recording in the late 1930s and 1940s.