Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet

Tickets are available to 2025-26 Playhouse Members starting Friday, June 13 - click here to become a member to buy your tickets now. Regular tickets go on sale to the public on July 2 at 10am. 

Experience the music of Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson through some of today’s top jazz musicians. The evening, hosted by Peterson’s youngest daughter, Céline, will take audiences on a musical retrospective of Peterson’s career, which will beautifully blend the styles and traditions that Peterson is known for, with the individual styles of each person on stage. 

A key part of Peterson’s legacy is the opportunities he created for those who followed him, helping bring musical excellence to the center of jazz performance. Each invited pianist in this performance showcases the incredible talent that represents the cutting edge of the jazz community. 

Throughout the evening, Céline Peterson will give the audience a rare glimpse into some of the history behind select compositions as well as share stories from her unique perspective as she accompanied her father on tour early in her life.

“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.”

- Oscar Peterson

About Oscar Peterson:

Dr. Oscar E. Peterson, CC CQ OOnt., is one of the most prolific jazz pianists of all time. Born on August 15th, 1925. in Montréal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, Peterson’s more than six-decade international career began with a radio broadcast live from Montréal in 1949, which was heard by jazz impresario, Norman Granz while in the back of a taxi on the way to the airport. After hearing all he needed to, he instructed the driver to take him back to the city, where he introduced himself to Oscar Peterson and invited him to be a guest at an upcoming Jazz at the Philharmonic performance at Carnegie Hall. The rest, as they say, is history.

Award highlights for Peterson include: 8x GRAMMY Award-winner (including Lifetime Achievement Award), Companion to the Order of Canada, a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and JUNO Award Hall of Fame, the first recipient of both the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and Glenn Gould Prize, Lifetime Achievement recognition from BBC Radio, Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec, and recipient of the Order des Arts et des Lettres, Praemium Imperiale World Art Award, UNESCO Music Prize, Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee Medal. Other commemorations include a statue of Peterson created by Ruth Abernethy and stationed outside the National Arts Centre in downtown Ottawa, a Historica Heritage Minute (2021), a Canadian postage stamp, and a commemorative circulation coin from the Royal Canadian Mint.

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