Oscar Peterson, piano
Roy Eldridge, brass On some tunes, Clark Terry
Ray Brown, bass
Ed Thigpen, drums
Oscar could swing - obviously - but where did he get those chops?
Well, his classical technique came on a direct line straight from Franz Liszt. His teacher in Montreal Paul de Marky was a student of István Thomán who studied with Liszt.
From childhood on, Peterson was at the keyboard six hours and more a day.
Being exposed to Art Tatum blew his mind, so much so that he gave up the piano for a few weeks. He came back but remained humbled by the experience his entire life.
Peterson also credited his sister Daisy Sweeney, a noted piano teacher, who worked with a number of jazz musicians with helping advance his fluency on the keyboard.
His professional career started at 14 and lasted over sixty years including thousands of concerts and performances.
