<p>I’ve only watched and listened to this about 20 times, but I’m working on getting it up to 50 times or more.</p>
<p>Martin Drew and NHOP are amazing too, but Oscar’s playing, there really are no words.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBIyri8E8II&feature=related[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBIyri8E8II&feature=related</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the link.</p>
<p>I gotta play my piano more-
( its good for the hand/eye coordination- not for what comes out of it);)</p>
<p>lol…</p>
<p>If you like Oscar Peterson, you’ll LOVE Jessica Williams (especially since she’s still breathing.)</p>
<p>It is tough to watch an artist play live when they are dead.</p>
<p>Jessica Williams plays beautifully. Thanks for the recommendation.</p>
<p>Jessica is a wonderful pianist, tasteful ideas delivered always with expression, blistering technique and authority. She has everything. But she is to me a great pianist who always plays to express other great pianists, one of whom is Oscar Peterson. It is not an awful thing that she goes where guys like Oscar, Evans, Hancock, Tatum, etc. have already been (but with a more modern sound in some cases). Those are nice places! Still, it means she does not bring me the surprise, grittiness, richness of ideas and sound that guys like Oscar have brought me. I can hear Oscar’s playing and know it is Oscar. I can hear Monk’s playing and experience the unique, even warped personality of the player himself. The same is true of Evans, Tatum, and a number of the greats. Many of the young lions and lionesses of Jazz piano seem to echo other people’s personalities, and so I gain little newness from their playing other than wonderful technique, notes and chords (which are special in themselves).</p>
<p>[This</a> performance](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAxBAEb2pmE]This”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAxBAEb2pmE) was my first exposure to Oscar Peterson (and also to Andre Previn). I was a kid and knew nothing about music at the time. I have since heard scores of great Jazz pianists. What is it about Oscar’s playing that sets it apart from the rest? Apart from his technique, there is an extraordinary sensitivity to period and style that is unique to him. To experience this, listen to and see the video above once and enjoy it. Then, listen once again, this time isolating the left hand (the bass sound) so that it is pretty much all you hear. It may help to imagine it coming from a contrabass player thumping along in back of the two pianists.</p>
<p>Do you hear how fat and yet even the left hand is? Now realize that this is all Oscar! Both pianists are hammering out ideas with their right, but when Oscar’s hands are idle, that fat even and at times thumping left hand dies. Now realize further that this cat’s right hand is going to town with ideas that are as complex as any of the greats, when they play the blues, and yet it is independent of the left. The style never dies.</p>
<p>Contrast this to Previn’s playing. Previn is a great all around musician. So we aren’t taking anything away from him by pointing out the difference. But note the disjointed, even hollowness of sound when Previn is carrying the piece alone. Oscar’s sensitivity allows him to totally control all of the keyboard and maintain superior grittiness, fatness, and style throughout the entire performance.</p>
<p>That, my friends, is uniquely Oscar. [Check</a> it out](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxB-LbcZITU&feature=related]Check”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxB-LbcZITU&feature=related). It is untouchable.</p>
<p>Drosselmeier, fantastic links, both of them.</p>
<p>I prefer Oscar over any other jazz pianist, but what do I know.</p>
<p>You wrote a great post explaining why you like Oscar so much, and I agree with it. </p>
<p>I’ve never seen that clip of Andre and Oscar. Thanks for posting it.</p>
<p>I’ve seen Oscar in concert play Sweet Georgia Brown many times. You’re right. He is unique. And that clip you posted…incredible.</p>
<p>One of the things that sets Oscar apart to me is he can play with so much power and then he can play stuff like this…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqEutf3ec_A&feature=related[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqEutf3ec_A&feature=related</a></p>
<p>Plus, Oscar played for many years with guitarist Joe Pass. I named my son after Joe Pass. :)</p>
<p>Oscar Peterson’s West Side Story is in frequent rotation here.</p>
<p>My son loves Brad Mehldau:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9oXCjx7guU[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9oXCjx7guU</a></p>
<p>live:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4fiMIxO2E[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4fiMIxO2E</a></p>
<p>I could not find any videos of Oscar playing anything from west side story on youtube.</p>
<p>collegemom16, thanks for the links. I like Brad Mehldau too. I have no idea what he is doing, but I like his music. 
This is supposed to be 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon. :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://youtube.com/watch?v=qR8iiDEF4ek[/url]”>http://youtube.com/watch?v=qR8iiDEF4ek</a></p>
<p>Dstark,</p>
<p>Here you go (music only, not performance): <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyN09aH7X5A[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyN09aH7X5A</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This guy has simply snipped the progression for the hook of Simon’s song (the “slip out the back Jack" part), put it in 7/8 and played it over and over and over and over again in the left hand. You can hear it if you isolate the hand. He also plays a lot of fun licks that are harmonically outside of the progression. It sounds a bit disorienting mainly because of this and also because it is in odd meter. But you can track the 7 meter easily, especially when the bass enters. Just stress beats one and five in your mind as you count in time from one to seven. You have to float with the count, without pausing at all.</p>
<p>ONE 2 3 4 FIVE 6 7 ONE 2 3 4 FIVE 6 7 ONE 2 3 4 FIVE 6 7… </p>
<p>That’s it.</p>
<p>This trio grooves really nicely. The band especially kicks it hard when the drummer and bass enter. They are exceptional. A lot of folks may not “get” this guy, but I sure do.</p>
<p>As a reference to this next tune, here is some guy playing one of my favorite standards straight ahead. <a href=“http://youtube.com/watch?v=OTEn4LvjLpA[/url]”>http://youtube.com/watch?v=OTEn4LvjLpA</a> He does a nice sweet job laying out the tune.</p>
<p>Now here is The Master playing it <a href=“http://youtube.com/watch?v=aWa6aChSf1w[/url]”>http://youtube.com/watch?v=aWa6aChSf1w</a> Listen to the bass that Pass lays down in the beginning! Tooo beautiful. And track how incrementally the trio heats up. If you are not paying attention, it’ll just creep up on you. This is seriously skilled playing.</p>
<p>Now here is the same tune expressed by another of my favorite pianists <a href=“http://youtube.com/watch?v=73W_F76H2Tk[/url]”>http://youtube.com/watch?v=73W_F76H2Tk</a> There is nothing like this guy. It too is untouchable, gritty, humorous – marvelous. Listen to the constant offbeat left hand. Intense!</p>
<p>Now check out what Pat and Brad do with it <a href=“http://youtube.com/watch?v=N8j_LRFO4Lc[/url]”>http://youtube.com/watch?v=N8j_LRFO4Lc</a></p>
<p>You can hear the tune, but the duo is stretching, twisting, and filling it with a lot of modernity.</p>
<p>audiophile, thanks. Fantastic. I have already listened to it 3 times. I wonder how many times I will listen to it. :)</p>
<p>Drosselmeier, I enjoy your explanations. I love listening to these artists come up with different interpretations of the same song. I haven’t heard Errol Garner for over 20 years and I like Pat Metheny, and did I mention I named my son after Joe Pass? Now , thanks to you and youtube, I will be very busy…listening and watching Erroll Garner and Pat Metheny.</p>
<p>I am going to drive my wife crazy. She likes quiet. :)</p>
<p>dstark and Drosselmeier thanks for the links. I will have my son listen. :)</p>
<p>This is the song my son really wants Brad to do:
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6begaAXMg[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6begaAXMg</a></p>
<p>collegemom,</p>
<p>Has your son heard this: <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009MGQ4/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1202690701&sr=8-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009MGQ4/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1202690701&sr=8-1</a></p>
<p>collegemom16, thanks for the link. I like it.</p>
<p>OK. I’m going to try and make this my last Oscar Peterson-Joe Pass piece. :)</p>
<p>I love this piece of music…the melody…when Joe plays his first notes in his solo…when Oscar solos after the bassist solos…the whole piece…</p>
<p>Alice in Wonderland
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSNPzm_wYLY&NR=1[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSNPzm_wYLY&NR=1</a></p>
<p>^Oscar Peterson is great!^
This is collegemom’s son. She showed me this and I really enjoyed listening to the links. Drosselmeier your explanation was really cool. I liked the links to see the styles. Audiophile my mom said I can order the CD you linked for a Valentine’s Day present, lol. I’m excited to hear it. Thank you for putting those up on here.</p>
<p>Dstark I’m glad you liked my link. Here are a few more for you to try.</p>
<p>You will like this one.
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4NB2Uk4-Xo[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4NB2Uk4-Xo</a></p>
<p>This one is jazz oriented.
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvWOo_K4dQA[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvWOo_K4dQA</a></p>
<p>I can’t find the SNL performance of this one (it is amazing) but this one is too. Keep listening as it builds intensity. It is beautiful noise, lol.
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMT7auRHmmI[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMT7auRHmmI</a></p>
<p>These are more experimental jazz/electronic so you might not like them as much. (personal favorites)
<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc1oaT0pDqo&feature=related[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc1oaT0pDqo&feature=related</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdrh_co1wTA&feature=related[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdrh_co1wTA&feature=related</a></p>
<p>son of collegemom16, thanks for the links. National Anthem…not quite my style. :)</p>
<p>I wonder if my college age daughter listens to Radiohead? I’ll ask her.</p>