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Oscar Peterson Mural by Gene Pendon. Project produced by MU Productions
Dedication Event Flyer
Jazz Born Here
Mural by Gene Pendon
for "Vibrations" Project by Mu in partnership with the Borough of Little Burgundy
Homage to Oscar Peterson Dedication Event
Dedication keynotes by the Peterson Family, Oliver Jones and Mayor Gerard Tremblay
Mosaic Installation by Laurence Petit
Also: Jazz Amnesty Sound System (DJ's Andy Williams and Sweet Daddy Luv)
Thursday Sept 15th at 1pm. Across from Oscar Peterson Park, St.Jacques and Des Seigneurs
Mural by Gene Pendon
for "Vibrations" Project by Mu in partnership with the Borough of Little Burgundy
Homage to Oscar Peterson Dedication Event
Dedication keynotes by the Peterson Family, Oliver Jones and Mayor Gerard Tremblay
Mosaic Installation by Laurence Petit
Also: Jazz Amnesty Sound System (DJ's Andy Williams and Sweet Daddy Luv)
Thursday Sept 15th at 1pm. Across from Oscar Peterson Park, St.Jacques and Des Seigneurs
CBC.ca | All in a Weekend | MU's biggest wall art
Radio Interview link:
CBC.ca | All in a Weekend | MU's biggest wall art
It seems where ever you go on the island of Montreal these days, there is art springing up: At Habitations Jeanne-Mance, in the alley next to Espace Go on the Main, and lower down on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, where there is art-under-construction at the National Theatre School. That project is soon to be MU's biggest wall art yet -- a massive mural to celebrate the Theatre School's 50th anniversary.
MU, in case you've haven't heard by now, is the name of a non-profit agency whose mission is to bring living colour to Montreal's walls. Inspired by the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, MU's co-founders Elizabeth Ann Doyle and Emmanuelle Hébert went hat in hand to their old employer - Cirque de Soleil - to finance their first project in the borough of St. Michel five years ago.
Today there is no stopping them. Mu and its crew have just finished a show-stopper in Little Burgundy, right across from the community garden at the corner of Des Seigneurs and St. Jacques.
That's where All in a Weekend's guest host Loreen Pindera caught up with mosaic artist Laurence Petit and MU's co-founder Emmanuelle Hébert.
CBC.ca | All in a Weekend | MU's biggest wall art
It seems where ever you go on the island of Montreal these days, there is art springing up: At Habitations Jeanne-Mance, in the alley next to Espace Go on the Main, and lower down on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, where there is art-under-construction at the National Theatre School. That project is soon to be MU's biggest wall art yet -- a massive mural to celebrate the Theatre School's 50th anniversary.
MU, in case you've haven't heard by now, is the name of a non-profit agency whose mission is to bring living colour to Montreal's walls. Inspired by the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, MU's co-founders Elizabeth Ann Doyle and Emmanuelle Hébert went hat in hand to their old employer - Cirque de Soleil - to finance their first project in the borough of St. Michel five years ago.
Today there is no stopping them. Mu and its crew have just finished a show-stopper in Little Burgundy, right across from the community garden at the corner of Des Seigneurs and St. Jacques.That's where All in a Weekend's guest host Loreen Pindera caught up with mosaic artist Laurence Petit and MU's co-founder Emmanuelle Hébert.
Oliver Jones and Kelly Peterson visit the project site
 |
| A chance reunion between friends as Oliver Jones passes by on the very day Kelly Peterson visits the mural from Toronto. |
About Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson CC CQ OOnt (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends,[1] and was a member of jazz royalty.[2] He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career. He is considered to have been one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time,[3] who played thousands of live concerts to audiences worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years.
As a child, Peterson also studied with Hungarian-born pianist Paul de Marky, a student of Istvan Thomán who was himself a pupil of Franz Liszt, so his training was predominantly based on classical piano. Meanwhile he was captivated by traditional jazz and learned several ragtime pieces and especially the boogie-woogie. At that time Peterson was called "the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie."[6]
At age nine Peterson played piano with control that impressed professional musicians. For many years his piano studies included four to six hours of practice daily. Only in his later years did he decrease his daily practice to just one or two hours. In 1940, at age fourteen, Peterson won the national music competition organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After that victory, he dropped out of school and became a professional pianist working for a weekly radio show, and playing at hotels and music halls.
Peterson resided in a two-storey house on Hammond Road in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, until his death in 2007 of kidney failure.
Influences
Some of the artists who influenced Peterson's musicianship during the early years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson and Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years.[7] One of his first exposures to Tatum's musical talents came early in his teen years when his father played Art Tatum's Tiger Rag for him, and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he became disillusioned about his own playing, to the extent of refusing to play the piano at all for several weeks. In his own words, "Tatum scared me to death" and Peterson was "never cocky again" about his mastery at the piano.[8] Tatum was a model for Peterson's musicianship during the 1940s and 1950s. Tatum and Peterson eventually became good friends, although Peterson was always shy about being compared with Tatum and rarely played the piano in Tatum's presence.Peterson has also credited his sister Daisy Sweeney — a noted piano teacher in Montreal who also taught several other noted 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 the core classical pianism from rigorous scales to such staples of every pianist's repertoire as preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach.[9]
Building on Art 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 thrown in here and there in many recordings by Peterson, including his work with 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 that reveal more of his eclectic style that absorbed influences from various genres of jazz, popular and classical music.
Awards and recognition
Musical awards and recognition
Begone Dull Care is an abstract film presentation of Oscar's music, released in 1949.His work earned him eight Grammy awards over the years and he was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1978. He also belongs to the Juno Awards Hall of Fame and the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame.
Peterson received the first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from Black Theatre Workshop (1986), Roy Thomson Award (1987), a Toronto Arts Award for lifetime achievement (1991), the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (1992), the Glenn Gould Prize (1993), the award of the International Society for Performing Artists (1995), the Loyola Medal of Concordia University (1997), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1997), the Praemium Imperiale World Art Award (1999), the UNESCO Music Prize (2000), the Toronto Musicians' Association Musician of the Year award (2001), and an honorary LLD from the University of the West Indies (2006).
In 1999, Concordia University in Montreal renamed their Loyola-campus concert hall Oscar Peterson Concert Hall in his honour.[25]
In 2005, Peterson celebrated his 80th birthday at the HMV flagship store in Toronto, where a crowd of about 200 gathered to celebrate with him. Long time admirer, and fellow Canadian Diana Krall, sang "Happy Birthday" to him and also performed a vocal version of one of Peterson's songs "When Summer Comes". The lyrics for this version were written by Elvis Costello, Krall's husband. Canada Post unveiled a commemorative postage stamp in his honour. The event was covered by a live radio broadcast by Toronto jazz station, JAZZ.FM.
Peterson received the BBC-Radio Lifetime Achievement Award, London, England.[26]
"Technique is something you use to make your ideas listenable," he once told jazz writer Len Lyons. "You learn to play the instrument so you have a musical vocabulary, and you practice to get your technique to the point you need to express yourself, depending on how heavy your ideas are."
"Some may criticize Peterson for not advancing, for finding his niche and staying with it for an entire career, but while he may not be the most revolutionary artist in jazz, the documentary Music in the Key of Oscar demonstrates that breaking down barriers can be accomplished in more ways than one."[27] "He was a crystallizer, rather than an innovator."[20]
""His hands could do things few piano players can do," said pianist Bill King who studied with Peterson at his music school. Because Peterson was a big man — six feet three inches — he could stretch his hands over a keyboard in a way few musicians can match.[28]
Ray Charles, in Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues - Piano Blues (2003), said "Oscar Peterson is a mother fucking piano player!"
Recognition in Canada
While Peterson was recognized as a great jazz pianist both at home in Canada and internationally, he was also regarded in Canada as a distinguished public figure. His notable personage is evident in the acclaim and awards he received, particularly in the latter two decades of his life.He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (the country's highest civilian state order for talent and service) in 1972, and promoted to Companion of the order (the highest degree of merit and humanity), in 1984. He was also a member of the Order of Ontario, a Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec, and an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.
From 1991 to 1994, Peterson was chancellor of York University in Toronto. The chancellor is the titular head of the university. Weeks after his death, the Province of Ontario announced a C$4 million scholarship for the "Oscar Peterson Chair" for Jazz Performance at York University with an additional C$1 million to be awarded annually in music scholarships to underprivileged York students in tribute to Peterson.[28]
Peterson's niece, television journalist Sylvia Sweeney, produced an award-winning documentary film, In the Key of Oscar, about Peterson in 1992.
Unlike most other jazz musicians, Oscar Peterson was networked with Canadian elites in the later years of his life. For example, former Ontario premier Bob Rae recalled that in 2007, himself, Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, and former Ontario premier Bill Davis celebrated McMurtry's retirement with Peterson, his wife, and their wives.[30]
Peterson received honorary doctorates from many Canadian universities: Carleton University, Queen's University, Concordia University, McMaster University, Mount Allison University, the University of Victoria, the University of Western Ontario, York University, the University of Toronto, and the Université Laval, as well as from Northwestern University and Niagara University in the United States.
In 2004, the City of Toronto named the courtyard of the Toronto-Dominion Centre Oscar Peterson Square.
In 2005, the Peel District School Board in suburban Toronto opened the Oscar Peterson school in Mississauga, Ontario, two miles from his home. Peterson said, "This is a most unexpected and moving tribute."[31] He visited the school several times and donated electronic musical equipment to it.[20] Soon after Peterson's death, the University of Toronto Mississauga opened a major student residence in March 2008 as "Oscar Peterson Hall".[32]
Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien wanted in 1993 to put Peterson forward to the Governor General of Canada for appointment to the post of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, but Peterson felt that his health could not stand up to the many ceremonial duties that this position would require. "He was the most famous Canadian in the world," said Chrétien. Chrétien also said that Nelson Mandela glowed when meeting Peterson. "It was very emotional. They were both moved to meet each other. These were two men with humble beginnings who rose to very illustrious levels."[33]
A major memorial concert, held on January 12, 2008, filled the 2500-seat Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. People had queued for more than three hours to get in. Governor General Michaëlle Jean reported at the concert that "thousands" more could not get in. Among the performers were Grégory Charles, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Phil Nimmons and singers Audrey Morris and Nancy Wilson. The "Oscar Peterson" quartet played key pieces; they are Monty Alexander, Jeff Hamilton, Ulf Wakenius and Dave Young. All toured with Peterson during his late "one-handed" period" except Alexander. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, University of Toronto Gospel Choir[34] and Sharon Riley & the Faith Chorale, under the direction of Andrew Craid along with opera soprano Measha Brueggergosman closed the show, singing an excerpt from Peterson's "Hymn to Freedom". The show was made available for download.[21][35]
A movement was begun on Facebook to rename the Lionel-Groulx Metro station, a transfer station between Montreal's Green Line and Orange Line, in honour of Oscar Peterson. The Montreal Transit Corporation, however, has refused to end its moratorium on renaming Metro stations. The city's policy on landmark tributes is to wait at least a year after a public figure's death.[36][37][38][39]
An Ontario school named Oscar Peterson Public School was opened in Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York on 30 April 2009,[40] and commenced operation in the 2009-2010 school year.
About Little Burgundy
Little Burgundy
History
The neighbourhood was founded as Sainte-Cunegonde, an independent town from the city of Montreal proper. Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Street to the west, Saint-Antoine to the north, Mountain Street to the east, and the Lachine Canal to the south. During the Industrial Revolution it was the site of many so-called "smokestack" industries, most notably the Canadian Pacific Railway yards, and the Steel Company of Canada (or Stelco) plant, among others. Sainte-Cunegonde was absorbed into the larger city near the turn of the 20th century; the former town hall is now a public library and community centre, located on Vinet Street.As one of the most important sites for the nascent trans-Canadian railway industry, a great many African-American workers were brought in from the United States. Later Caribbean blacks were also brought in, leading to Little Burgundy's unique niche as the home of Montreal's working-class English-speaking black community.[1]
The neighbourhood is famous as a centre of black culture, having produced several talented jazz musicians. During Prohibition and the later pre-Jean Drapeau years as an 'open city,' Little Burgundy was home to many lively nightclubs featuring homegrown and international performers; one of the most famous was Rockhead's Paradise, owned by Rufus Rockhead, after whom a street is named. Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones are the two best-known musicians who emerged from the bebop and post-bop era. Canada's first black Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, also spent part of her childhood in the area.
Today, the neighbourhood has endured several phases of gentrification, partly stemming from the construction of townhouses over the former railway yards through the 1980s, and then the 2002 reopening of the Lachine Canal to boat traffic, the revitalization of the Atwater Market, and towards its eastern boundary, the continued expansion of UQAM's Ecole de Technologie Supérieure. Little Burgundy is home to the North American arm of Ninja Tune records, many architecture and design offices, new restaurants, as well a longstanding antiques row along Notre-Dame West, formally organized as the "Quartier des Antiquaires".
This neighbourhood is served by the Georges-Vanier station and the Lionel-Groulx station on the Montreal Metro. Many young teens from the area attend Polyvalente St-Henri which is located in the adjacent neighbourhood of St-Henri.
About MU
About Mu
Source: http://www.mu-art.ca/ - ENG
MU is a non-profit organization (registered as a charity), which supports and promotes public art in the greater Montréal region. Its mission is both artistic and social as the project involves creating murals within and for local communities. In French, the word «Mue» means rejuvenation through the shedding of an old skin. Similarly, the goal of the project is to embellish and bring new life to the faded, neglected and/or graffitied walls of the city, thereby triggering other social changes. MU defines itself as a catalyst between the following key groups: wall owners, companies wishing to financially support a mural, artists, residents, youth and various levels of government. To attain its objective, MU has developed an original approach inspired by the success of the Philadelphia MURAL ARTS PROJECT (www.muralarts.org).
MU's methods and philosophy are based on two complementary and interrelated concepts: SUPPORT TO THE ARTS and SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. The first implies the production and promotion of varied artistic projects supporting local artists. Through this beautification process, the city establishes itself as an open-air gallery. Furthermore, this corresponds to the objectives set out by the City of Montréal in an effort to brand itself and reinforce its image as a «Cultural Capital». Social development is achieved in two ways: through the involvement of the local community in the validation process of the mural as well as through the participation of young people in the creative process. Similar projects have been successful in demonstrating that the community input provides leverage to local development, to the improvement of quality of life, to the revitalization of neighborhoods, to civic education and to help residents in reclaiming their community.
MU intends to finance its activities with the support of the private sector (corporations and foundations), through multiple partnerships with the city center and boroughs, as well as with various organizations and government programs. MU has established partnerships with Cirque du Soleil, Mouvement Desjardins, Simplex, Benjamin Moore, the City of Montréal and many boroughs. MU has produced fifteen (15) murals throughout the city.
Both founders of MU have earned masters degrees in the social sciences and have a combined experience of 15 years in event management and large-scale special projects (Cirque du Soleil, Équipe Spectra, Just for Laughs Festival). They are also involved in socio-political, community and arts-related activities. Emmanuelle Hébert is a member of the Conseil des Montréalaises.
In addition, MU has won two national prizes at the Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest in 2008: Grand prize winner for Social Economy Business of the year and Grand prize for Women's Entrepreneurship of the year. MU is also holder of the GRAFIKA 2008 award for its logo. Moreover, it has also won the FORCES award of the Women's Entrepreneurship Challenge 2007.
MU's methods and philosophy are based on two complementary and interrelated concepts: SUPPORT TO THE ARTS and SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. The first implies the production and promotion of varied artistic projects supporting local artists. Through this beautification process, the city establishes itself as an open-air gallery. Furthermore, this corresponds to the objectives set out by the City of Montréal in an effort to brand itself and reinforce its image as a «Cultural Capital». Social development is achieved in two ways: through the involvement of the local community in the validation process of the mural as well as through the participation of young people in the creative process. Similar projects have been successful in demonstrating that the community input provides leverage to local development, to the improvement of quality of life, to the revitalization of neighborhoods, to civic education and to help residents in reclaiming their community.
MU intends to finance its activities with the support of the private sector (corporations and foundations), through multiple partnerships with the city center and boroughs, as well as with various organizations and government programs. MU has established partnerships with Cirque du Soleil, Mouvement Desjardins, Simplex, Benjamin Moore, the City of Montréal and many boroughs. MU has produced fifteen (15) murals throughout the city.
Both founders of MU have earned masters degrees in the social sciences and have a combined experience of 15 years in event management and large-scale special projects (Cirque du Soleil, Équipe Spectra, Just for Laughs Festival). They are also involved in socio-political, community and arts-related activities. Emmanuelle Hébert is a member of the Conseil des Montréalaises.
In addition, MU has won two national prizes at the Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest in 2008: Grand prize winner for Social Economy Business of the year and Grand prize for Women's Entrepreneurship of the year. MU is also holder of the GRAFIKA 2008 award for its logo. Moreover, it has also won the FORCES award of the Women's Entrepreneurship Challenge 2007.
About "Hymm to Freedom"
Hymm to Freedom
The piece was Peterson’s first major work and written with encouragement from his producer and dear friend Norman Granz. During those initial recording sessions, Granz urged Peterson to create a tune with a “definitive early-blues feel”.
For inspiration, Peterson drew upon various church renderings of Negro spirituals recalled from his childhood in Montreal. He aimed to maintain the unadorned, yet poignant quality of these early Baptist hymns while composing the beginning chorus of Hymn to Freedom. Upon its completion, Peterson and Granz decided that lyrics would complement the music and contacted Malcolm Dodds, composer, arranger and choir director of The Malcolm Dodds Singers; a backup group for many popular artists of the day.
Hymn to Freedom is, indeed, one of Peterson’s most relevant and timeless pieces. Acknowledgements are due to this Canadian legend for creating this superbly moving composition, capturing a period of Western history that saw radical change, and becoming a powerful force for freedom and equality.
About the Mural
The mural’s depictions came from photographs donated by Kelly Peterson, that of Oscar Peterson in concert, in the younger years of his life, and portrait from a candid family photo. The upper background depicts the area of Little Burgundy, the location of the mural, and Oscar’s birthplace where he grew up and learned piano from his sister, Daisy. The suggestion of a floating trail of piano keys mark Oscar’s path from the Montreal borough to the international stage, weaving through the blue, purple and violet swirls and circles that depict the flourishes in Oscar Peterson’s unique styling on the piano.
The 33 foot wide and 35 foot high mural was painted in July 2011.
Assistant artists for the project : Arly Padan, Nicolas Craig.
Oscar Peterson Quotes
You not only have to know your own instrument, you must know the others and how to back them up at all times. That`s jazz.
It`s the group sound that`s important, even when you`re playing a solo.
I have no one style.
Some people try to get very philosophical and cerebral about what they`re trying to say with jazz. You don`t need any prologues, you just play.
I am the worlds laziest writer.
I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea.
Too many jazz pianists limit themselves to a personal style, a trademark, so to speak. They confine themselves to one type of playing.
We`re not like pop musicians who have to perform the same top ten tunes every night of a tour.
The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn`t be able to do that.
Montreal was a very active jazz center until club owners started putting in strippers instead of music. Before long, there was nothing to hear.
I don`t believe that a lot of the things I hear on the air today are going to be played for as long a time as Coleman Hawkins records or Brahms concertos.
I play as I feel.
I don`t do something because I think it will sell 30 million albums. I couldn`t care less. If it sells one, it sells one.
If you have something to say of any worth then people will listen to you.
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