Notes from a giant
I have always really loved this interview, with Andre Previn interviewing Oscar Peterson. When I was about 15, Oscar came through Oregon to play, but he was playing in Portland, 220 miles from my home town. And my folks weren't up to driving all the way up there for it, so I organized it as a school field trip for my high school swing choir. And it's still one of the best concerts I ever saw, Oscar, Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Basie band (who totally blew me away) all at once. And like a lot of musicians, Oscar was sort of an enigma; what could he possibly have been like as a person? Well, here he is! Herbie Hancock told me once, during a conversation about Herbie's technophilia (he always has the latest and greatest; he probably already has the iPhone 13) that Oscar put him to shame with his love of things technical. There are some YouTubes of Oscar in his home studio playing synths, which are fun. But in this interview, Andre Previn (who's also a scary jazz pianist himself, though best known as a classical conductor) interviews Oscar in a very playful way, and the insights are priceless. It's like a master class, and Oscar is at the peak of his powers. And toward the end, the two of them play together, and THAT is also really cool! Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIW24bySbT4
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