From the archive: Oscar Peterson
Jazz pianist and Concordia honoree Oscar Peterson’s first big break came in 1942, at the age of 17, when local bandleader Johnny Holmes hired him to play with his famous orchestra. Recognizing Peterson’s talent and his ability to draw crowds, Holmes began billing his band as “the Johnny Holmes Orchestra with Oscar Peterson.” Three years later, Peterson signed his first recording contract; he went on to become one of his generation’s most accomplished jazz pianists, as well as a respected teacher and composer.
The Johnny Holmes Fonds – donated by the bandleader in 1986 to the Jazz Fonds and Collections in the Records Management and Archives Department – contains several rare photos of a young Peterson playing with the Johnny Holmes Orchestra. It also provides information on jazz in Montreal during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as music that Holmes arranged and conducted, audiotapes of CBC radio broadcasts, press clippings and other photos of performers.
Oscar Peterson at Concordia
In 1979, Concordia awarded Peterson an honorary doctorate; and in 1997, he received the Loyola Medal, the universiy’s highest honour. The new concert hall on the Loyola Campus was named after Peterson in 1999; he made two separate donations of digital recording equipment, still used by music students to produce high-quality digital recordings of their performances. A scholarship for music students was also established in his honour.
Related links:
• Johnny Holmes Fonds
• Jazz Fonds and Collections
• Oscar Peterson Hall
• Montreal International Jazz Festival