The birth of his daughter Celine, in the 66th year of his life, changed Oscar Peterson's life forever.
In his autobiography, A Jazz Odyssey, he talks about how his marriage to the former Kelly Green and the birth of Celine marked a new maturity in his life. There were numerous, "subtle pleasures that arose from having my days governed by my baby daughter. I also found myself getting much more tolerant than before: she was remoulding both life itself and my attitudes to it."
The arrival of Celine also seemed to usher in a new maturity in his composing as well. "I became more mellow," says Peterson in his biography. "Compositions such as Nighttime, Should I Ever Dream of Being Without You, Valse Mauve and Summertime came very easily, flowing out of my newly serene inner life."
Yesterday afternoon, a simply charming ceremony was held on the campus at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) to mark the occasion of the naming of a new residence in honour of the late Dr. Peterson.
The speeches were short, the jazz was hot and the mayor wasn't late. What else could you ask for?
Both Kelly and Celine Peterson were there to help unveil a series of three paintings by former UTM student Janice Ting to commemorate the occasion.
There are a lot of closet Oscar Peterson fans, of course, but who knew that the president of the U of T was one of them?
"I've been an Oscar Peterson fan forever," Dr. Naylor confided after the ceremony, as he soaked in the sound of a sharp-sounding quartet from the U of T music school. "The thing that struck me about his playing was that it was always so incredibly inventive," said Naylor, who finished off the event with a command performance (Chancellor David Peterson did the commanding) by playing Oscar's arrangement of I Get a Kick Out of You from OP's Sinatra tribute album.
"He could play anything and make it swing and sing. He could absolutely transport you in any genre," said Naylor, whose favourite OP albums just might be the ones that feature Count Basie, with the stylistic juxtaposition of the minimalist Kansas City master and the effusive Peterson.
As she watched yesterday's tributes, now 16-year-old Celine Peterson (above) was once again struck by the amazing impact that her father's work and life have made on the world.
She and her mother have been been so swept up in the outpouring of love and the string of major events to honour Oscar (the IAJE conference, the Roy Thomson tribute concert, the LAC tribute concert) since his death Dec. 23 that, on a personal level, "I have not really had time to deal with it," she said. "The grieving process is definitely being postponed."
When she remembers her father, Peterson said, it has to be with a smile. "He was the biggest tease," said Celine, who plans to continue her volunteering in the library of Oscar Peterson Public School once things quieten down a little. "He just loved to have fun. He was so kind and gentle and that's what so many people recognize," she said.
Especially the Peterson students who got to see the jazz legend wearing a Santa hat and handing out candy canes in his wheelchair a couple of years ago. It was tough to tell who got a bigger kick out of the experience, the kids or the mock-Santa, says Celine.
So which songs of her fathers are her favourites, she is asked.
Surprisingly, Celine hesitates a bit on that one. "Well, Celine's Waltz, of course, which was written for me, Ballade ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqEutf3ec_A), Cakewalk and, of course... Hymn To Freedom."
As she said at Roy Thomson Hall, Celine was especially thankful that, while her father's gargantuan technique may have faded after the stroke he suffered in New York City not long after she was born, he never lost his ability or his compulsion to play the instrument.
"He would not limit himself," she said. "He still played all 88 keys on the piano and he still did amazing things."
Now that she is in Grade 11 with her home schooling, Peterson is beginning to think about university.
Wouldn't it be something if one day Celine finds herself going to UTM and living in Oscar Peterson Hall?
• • •
By the way, The Mayor's Valentine Tribute to Oscar Feb. 14 raised $8,500 for one of Peterson's favourite charities, World Vision. That includes a personal $2,500 contribution from his childhood friend Oliver Jones, who has been jetting around the world since OP's death, anchoring numerous tributes to his fallen musical comrade.