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37-691: The festival was set up as the Rheinknie Session in 1985, with the five concerts of the first instalment of the festival in May 1986, including performances by Oscar Peterson , Albert Collins and Koko Taylor . The second year's edition included shows by Fats Domino and Buddy Guy . In 1988 Miles Davis agreed to perform at the festival. Subsequently the festival was first acknowledged outside of north-western Switzerland. Names such as Dizzy Gillespie , Michel Petrucciani and Herbie Hancock followed and Claude Nobs from Montreux Jazz Festival joined as

74-602: A Group. On April 22, 1978, Peterson performed in the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 that was broadcast live from the Palais des congrès de Paris . In 1974 he added British drummer Martin Drew . This quartet toured and recorded extensively worldwide. Pass said in a 1976 interview, "The only guys I've heard who come close to total mastery of their instruments are Art Tatum and Peterson". Peterson

111-419: A member of the patrons committee. In its first ten years the festival focussed on continuous growth. By gradually integrating musical styles such as world music , soul and funk after 1995, it proved possible to approach a younger audience. In 1997 the festival management decided to revamp the festival's content as well as its look and the festival's image was rejuvenated with greater importance attached to

148-489: A potential audience of 150 million viewers, on stations such as SRF (on Swiss television and on their Radio SRF 1 / Radio SRF 3 services), ARTE , Telebasel , TV24  [ de ; fr ] , TV25  [ de ; fr ] and 3sat . Some concerts were worldwide streamed live from the Event Hall via ARTE Concert's website and YouTube channel. In 2006 the festival's first Eurovision broadcast took place with

185-600: A remarkable degree of emotional as well as musical understanding among three players. When Ellis departed in 1958, they hired drummer Ed Thigpen because they felt no guitarist could compare to Ellis. Brown and Thigpen worked with Peterson on his albums Night Train and Canadiana Suite . Both left in 1965 and were replaced by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes (and later, drummer Bobby Durham ). The trio performed together until 1970. In 1969 Peterson recorded Motions and Emotions with orchestral arrangements of " Yesterday " and " Eleanor Rigby " by The Beatles . In

222-596: A show of Elton John, followed by Katie Melua 's Europe-wide live broadcast in 2007. Four performances, namely the concert featuring Solomon Burke (2003), Katie Melua (2007), Jethro Tull (2008) and Paul Anka (2011), were released in America and Europe on DVD. In 2022, Sky Arts started broadcasting performances from the concert to British Freeview viewers, with Kool & the Gang performance from 2017, Toto’s Baloise Session from 2015 and Brian Wilson in 2016 being some of

259-407: A trio and recorded for Victor Records . He gravitated toward boogie-woogie and swing with a particular fondness for Nat King Cole and Teddy Wilson . By the time he was in his 20s, he had developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive pianist. According to an interview with Norman Granz , he heard a radio program broadcasting from a local club while taking a cab to

296-592: Is considered among the best jazz pianists and jazz improvisers of the twentieth century. Peterson was born in Montreal , Quebec , to immigrants from the West Indies ( Saint Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands ); His mother, Kathleen, was a domestic worker; his father, Daniel, worked as a porter for Canadian Pacific Railway and was an amateur musician who taught himself to play

333-596: The Montreal airport . He was so impressed that he told the driver to take him to the club so he could meet the pianist. Granz had seen Peterson before this but was underwhelmed. In 1949 he introduced Peterson in New York City at a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall . He remained Peterson's manager for most of his career. This was more than a managerial relationship; Peterson praised Granz for standing up for him and other black jazz musicians in

370-567: The Toronto International Film Festival . Oscar Peterson was the subject of a circulating commemorative 1 Canadian dollar coin in 2022. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen ( SRF ; "Swiss Radio and Television") is a Swiss broadcasting company created on 1 January 2011 through the merger of radio company Schweizer Radio DRS (SR DRS) and television company Schweizer Fernsehen (SF). The new business unit of SRG SSR became

407-460: The organ , trumpet and piano . Peterson grew up in the neighbourhood of Little Burgundy in Montreal. It was in this predominantly black neighbourhood that he encountered the jazz culture. At the age of five, Peterson began honing his skills on trumpet and piano, but a bout of tuberculosis when he was seven prevented him from playing the trumpet again, so he directed all his attention to

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444-521: The Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto for five years during the 1960s, but it closed because touring called him and his associates away, and it did not have government funding. Peterson was influenced by Teddy Wilson , Nat King Cole , James P. Johnson , and Art Tatum , to whom many compared Peterson in later years. After his father played a record of Tatum's " Tiger Rag ", he

481-515: The British BBC , one of the few independent radio programmes that could be received in large parts of Western Europe. Jean Rudolf von Salis , a Swiss historian, commented in his weekly "Weltchronik" ("world chronicle") on the development of the war and other international events. With the introduction of VHF radio in the 1960s, the service on 529 kHz was transformed into the "Musikwelle" music service. The Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975 mandated

518-811: The Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby , who had been a member of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Barney Kessel . Their last recording, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio , recorded live at the Town Tavern in Toronto , captured a remarkable degree of emotional as well as musical understanding among three players. Peterson won eight Grammy Awards during his lifetime between 1975 and 1997. He

555-521: The Philharmonic. By 1956, Peterson's performances were also showcased on national radio networks by Ben Selvin within the RCA Thesaurus transcriptions library. Peterson also worked in duos with Sam Jones , Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen , Joe Pass , Irving Ashby , Count Basie , and Herbie Hancock . He considered the trio with Brown and Ellis "the most stimulating" and productive setting for public performances and studio recordings. In

592-487: The attraction and driving power of international performers. The club style seating arrangement, the combination of acts and the opportunity to experience big names in an intimate atmosphere have become trademarks. Embracing this vision, presenting sponsor AVO Cigars, part of Oettinger Davidoff , agreed to a growth-orientated sponsorship deal, with the festival becoming known as the AVO SESSION Basel. In 2013,

629-543: The concerts screened by the broadcaster. The Baloise Session has won the first prize in the cultural category of the International Sponsorships Awards presented by the German sponsorship association FASPO. Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson CC CQ OOnt (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. Considered a virtuoso and one of

666-784: The core classical pianism from scales to preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach . He asked his students to study the music of Johann Sebastian Bach , especially The Well-Tempered Clavier , the Goldberg Variations , and The Art of Fugue , considering these piano pieces essential for every serious pianist. Among his students were pianists Benny Green and Oliver Jones . Building on Tatum's pianism and aesthetics, Peterson also absorbed Tatum's musical influences, notably from piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff . Rachmaninoff's harmonizations, as well as direct quotations from his 2nd Piano Concerto , are scattered throughout many recordings by Peterson, including his work with

703-406: The early 1950s, he began performing with Brown and drummer Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby , who had been a member of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Kessel. Their last recording, On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio , recorded live at the Town Tavern in Toronto, captured

740-569: The early 1990s. Although the surgery was successful, his mobility was still hampered. He then mentored the York University jazz program and was the Chancellor of the university for several years in the early 1990s. He published jazz piano etudes for practice. In 1993, a stroke weakened his left side and removed him from work for two years. During the same year, incoming prime minister Jean Chrétien , his friend and fan, offered him

777-409: The fall of 1970, Peterson's trio released the album Tristeza on Piano . Jones and Durham left in 1970. In the 1970s Peterson formed a trio with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen . This trio emulated the success of the 1950s trio with Brown and Ellis and gave acclaimed performances at festivals. Their album The Trio won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by

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814-1393: The festival acquired sponsorship from a Swiss insurance company called Bâloise , changing the name of the event to Baloise Session, with sponsorship in place for the ten-night event till at least 2025. The festival has presented headliner artists such as Bob Geldof (1998); Ray Charles (1999); James Brown (2000); Chris de Burgh (2001); Paolo Conte (2002); Deep Purple , Solomon Burke (2003); Lionel Richie , Lucio Dalla (2004); Simply Red , Francesco De Gregori (2005); Elton John , Herbie Hancock (2006); Dolores O'Riordan , Patti Austin , Joe Cocker , Mark Knopfler , Katie Melua , Chuck Berry (2007); Jethro Tull , Zucchero , Amy Macdonald , Michael Bolton , Cyndi Lauper , Gary Moore (2008); Grace Jones , Tom Jones (2009); Jamiroquai , Mary J. Blige (2010); John Hiatt and Sonny Landreth , Liza Minnelli , Daniela Mercury , Paul Anka (2011); Laura Pausini Rod Stewart (2012); Eric Clapton (2013); Bryan Ferry (2014); Toto (2015); Candy Dulfer (2015); Francesco De Gregori Iggy Pop Norah Jones (2016); Alicia Keys , Madness , Imelda May (2017); Tribalistas (2018), Ms. Lauryn Hill (2018), John Legend (2018), Beth Hart (2018), Dido (2019), Michael Patrick Kelly (2019). Elisa (2022). Jessie J (2023). All concerts are recorded and broadcast in up to forty countries, with

851-495: The greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards , as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy , and received numerous other awards and honours. He played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years. He was called the " Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington , simply "O.P." by his friends, and informally in

888-475: The jazz community, "the King of inside swing". Peterson worked in duos with Sam Jones , Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen , Joe Pass , Irving Ashby , Count Basie , and Herbie Hancock . He considered the trio with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis "the most stimulating" and productive setting for public performances and studio recordings. In the early 1950s, he began performing with Brown and drummer Charlie Smith as

925-585: The label was founded in 1973, including the soundtrack for the 1978 thriller The Silent Partner . In the 1980s he played in a duo with pianist Herbie Hancock. In the late 1980s and 1990s, after a stroke, he made performances and recordings with his protégé Benny Green . In the 1990s and 2000s he recorded several albums accompanied by a combo for Telarc . Peterson had arthritis from his youth, and in later years he had trouble buttoning his shirt. Never slender, his weight increased to 125 kg (276 lb), hindering his mobility. He had hip replacement surgery in

962-501: The largest electronic media house of German-speaking Switzerland . About 2,150 employees work for SRF in the four main studios in Basel , Bern , and Zürich . Among the radio programmes, Radio SRF Musikwelle has the longest history, as it was originally the flagship frequency on the medium wave frequency 529 kHz, broadcasting news from its central antenna near Beromünster . "Radio Beromünster" was, during World War II , together with

999-416: The most familiar formulation of the Oscar Peterson Trio, with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis . During the 1960s and 1970s Peterson made numerous trio recordings highlighting his piano performances; they reveal more of his eclectic style, absorbing influences from various genres of jazz, popular, and classical music. According to pianist and educator Mark Eisenman, some of Peterson's best playing

1036-625: The national music competition organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . After that victory, he dropped out of the High School of Montreal , where he played in a band with Maynard Ferguson . He became a professional pianist, starring in a weekly radio show and playing at hotels and music halls. In his teens he was a member of the Johnny Holmes Orchestra. From 1945 to 1949 he worked in

1073-400: The piano. His father was one of his first music teachers, and his sister Daisy taught him classical piano. Peterson was persistent at practicing scales and classical études . As a child, Peterson studied with Hungarian-born pianist Paul de Marky, a student of István Thomán , who was himself a pupil of Franz Liszt , so his early training was predominantly based on classical piano. But he

1110-645: The position of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario . According to Chrétien, Peterson declined the job due to ill health related to the stroke. Although he recovered some dexterity in his left hand, his piano playing was diminished, and his style relied principally on his right hand. In 1995 he returned to occasional public performances and recorded for Telarc. In 1997 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. His friend, Canadian politician and amateur pianist Bob Rae , said, "a one-handed Oscar

1147-545: The segregationist south US of the 1950s and 1960s. In the documentary video Music in the Key of Oscar , Peterson tells how Granz stood up to a gun-toting Southern policeman who wanted to stop the trio from using "whites-only" taxis. In 1950, Peterson worked in a duo with double bassist Ray Brown . Two years later they added guitarist Barney Kessel . Then Herb Ellis stepped in after Kessel grew weary of touring. The trio remained together from 1953 to 1958, often touring with Jazz at

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1184-464: Was as an understated accompanist to singer Ella Fitzgerald and trumpeter Roy Eldridge . Peterson is considered one of history's great jazz pianists. He was called the " Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington , simply "O.P." by his friends, and informally in the jazz community as "the King of inside swing". In 2021, Barry Avrich produced a documentary on Peterson's life titled Oscar Peterson: Black + White that had its world premiere at

1221-602: Was better than just about anyone with two hands." In 2003, Peterson recorded the DVD A Night in Vienna for Verve with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Ulf Wakenius , and Martin Drew. He continued to tour the U.S. and Europe, though at most one month a year, with rest between concerts. In 2007, his health declined. He canceled his plans to perform at the Toronto Jazz Festival and a Carnegie Hall all-star concert that

1258-582: Was captivated by traditional jazz and boogie-woogie and learned several ragtime pieces. He was called "the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie". At the age of nine, Peterson played piano with a degree of control that impressed professional musicians. For many years his piano studies included four to six hours of daily practice. Only in his later years did he decrease his practice to one or two hours daily. In 1940, at fourteen years of age, he won

1295-773: Was intimidated and disillusioned, quitting the piano for several weeks. "Tatum scared me to death," said Peterson, adding that he was "never cocky again" about his ability at the piano. Tatum was a model for Peterson's musicianship during the 1940s and 1950s. Tatum and Peterson became good friends, although Peterson was always shy about being compared to Tatum and rarely played the piano in Tatum's presence. Peterson also credited his sister—a piano teacher in Montreal who also taught several other Canadian jazz musicians—with being an important teacher and influence on his career. Under his sister's tutelage, Peterson expanded into classical piano training and broadened his range while mastering

1332-505: Was open to experimental collaborations with jazz musicians such as saxophonist Ben Webster , trumpeter Clark Terry , and vibraphonist Milt Jackson . In 1961, the Peterson trio with Jackson recorded the album Very Tall . His solo recordings were rare until Exclusively for My Friends ( MPS ), a series of albums that were his response to pianists such as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner . He recorded for Pablo , led by Norman Granz, after

1369-608: Was to be given in his honour. Peterson died on December 23, 2007, of kidney failure at his home in Mississauga , Ontario. Peterson was married four times. He had seven children with three of his wives. He smoked cigarettes and a pipe and often tried to break the habit, but he gained weight every time he stopped. He loved to cook and remained overweight throughout his life. Peterson taught piano and improvisation in Canada, mainly in Toronto. With associates, he started and headed

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