Oscar Peterson

"You can't just sit down and play the piano. You have to think of phrases, colours, intensities. That's the only way it can be."
Oscar Peterson

True magic has left the world with the death of Mr. Oscar Peterson. I was lucky enough to hear him in concert live once, in an intimate venue. It felt as if there were nothing between me and the soul of the music he was presenting. By soul I am using the ancient greek sense of the word which embodies the melding of the senses and the mind creating a projection of something more than we usually experience directly on earth. With Mr. Peterson's playing it was as if Plato's projected shadows assumed warmth, colour and dimension.

If you had the patience to sit and listen contemplatively, his musicianship took you to places not quite expected. It was like a train trip; one not only experienced the sense of moving down the road, but the pleasures of all the surrounding views.

I agree, we will not see his like again, but we will see musicians, inspired by his talent, who catch our imaginations fully, and that is his great legacy to us.