Oscar Peterson rare UK concerts

Universally acclaimed, award-winning jazz pianist Oscar Peterson will play his first UK concerts in fifteen years. Peterson will be performing two rare concerts at the London Royal Albert Hall on Friday July 1st, and the Manchester Bridgewater Hall on Sunday 3rd July. Peterson will be accompanied by three of the top jazz musicians in the business - Ulf Wakenius (guitar), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass) and Alvin Queen (drums).

Tickets for both concerts will go on sale Saturday 12th February below.

The son of immigrants from the British West Indies and the Virgin Islands, and born an raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the age of 22, Peterson formed his first Canadian Jazz Trio, and by 1949 he made a guest appearance at New York City's Carnegie Hall with his all-star concert troupe known as "Jazz at the Philharmonic". By 1950 he began recording for Norman Granz' Mercury label and formed his first US duo with bassist Ray Brown.

During the same year he was awarded the Downbeat award, having being voted best jazz pianist of the year; an award that he garnered for another 12 years.

In the early 1950s he went on to form a jazz school in Toronto, known as the Advanced School of Contemporary Music, which attracted jazz students worldwide.

Over the years, Peterson has recorded with many of the jazz greats and his recordings showcase his talents alongside Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, to name a few. Alas, it has been the recordings with his various trios that have brought him international acclaim and recognition around the globe.document.write(unescape("