Oscar Peterson
November 8th, 2008Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was born on August 15, 1925 in Montreal, Canada. His father, Daniel Peterson moved to Canada in 1917 where he met and married Kathleen Olivia John, Oscar’s mother.
Oscar’s father, Daniel Peterson, was an avid musician and insisted that his children studied music. At first, Oscar musical career started at the age of five. At that time, he played the trumpet. However, he contracted Tuberculosis the next year and spent the next 14 months in the hospital. Tuberculosis badly damaged is lungs and he could no longer play the trumpet. Therefore, he centered his energy on playing the piano.
Oscar was a quick learner and it became obvious that he had enormous talent. He practiced daily up to 14 hours. Throughout his childhood, he was mostly influenced by classical music. Additionally, all of his teachers were all of classical music background. His father wanted Oscar to become a great classical pianist, but Oscar’s desire was in Jazz. His sister, Daisy was supportive of Oscar and helped him get onto a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation competition. Oscar was the winner of the competition and earned himself a spot on a radio show playing piano weekly.
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