Jazz Winnipeg’s Centennial Series at the Fort Garry Hotel marks the passing of three major artist centennials. Join us as we celebrate 100 years of legendary Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson with Will Bonness, “King of the Blues” B.B. King with Brent Parkin, and “The Velvet Fog,” crooner Mel Tormé with Zachary Rushing.
About Will Bonness
Winner of the 2022 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year (solo), and Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2022 Western Canada Music Awards, Will Bonness was called “one of finest jazz pianists of his generation” by Monk Competition winner Jon Gordon. Will has been active on the international music scene for two decades. At 17, he joined Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band for a world tour, which included performances in Europe, Thailand, and the Caribbean. He has since maintained an active international performance career, appearing at major jazz festivals in Canada and the United States, as well as at venues throughout New York and Toronto, including Smalls, Dizzy’s, and the Jazz Bistro. Locally, Will can often be seen performing with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Will has four releases to his credit: Subtle Fire (2009), Halcyon (2016), Change of Plans (2020), and Is This a Dream? (2023). He has appeared as an accompanist on over 30 albums, many of which have been nominated for or won JUNO and Western Canada Music Awards. Change of Plans has received international critical acclaim, a JUNO award, and over 2,000,000 streams on Spotify.
About Oscar Peterson
An eminent jazz pianist with technical mastery and limitless creativity, Oscar Peterson was a performer who could instantly inspire awe. He earned the nickname “Maharaja of the Keyboard” from none other than Duke Ellington, and can count many of the greatest names in jazz among his devoted legion of fans.
Peterson was born August 15, 1925, in Montreal. His performance career began while he was still in high school, as pianist with the Johnny Holmes Orchestra. After a few years with the orchestra, he formed his own trio, the first in a format he maintained throughout his lifelong career.
With the trio, Peterson quickly gained fame and popularity throughout Canada. His appearances at the Alberta Lounge in Montreal were broadcast live on the radio. In 1949, impresario Norman Granz heard one of those broadcasts, went to the Alberta Lounge and enticed Peterson into making a surprise guest appearance with Granz’s all-star “Jazz at the Philharmonic” at Carnegie Hall later that year.
Leaving the audience amazed, Peterson joined JATP in 1950 as a full-time touring member. He formed a piano-bass duo with Ray Brown and began recording for Granz at the same time. He also added Barney Kessel as the first of the guitarists with whom he would form trios.
He was voted Jazz Pianist of the Year in 1950 by the Downbeat Readers’ Poll, a title he continued to garner for an additional 12 years. He toured the globe extensively with JATP as well as with his own trio.
Peterson began composing while still a member of the Johnny Holmes Orchestra, and devoted more and more time to composition while still maintaining a vigorous performance schedule. His “Hymn To Freedom” became one of the crusade songs of the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is still performed by choirs worldwide. He also composed a salute to his beloved Canada, “The Canadiana Suite,” in the early 1960s.
Peterson has an extensive discography with his trio and quartet recordings, as well as recordings with many other jazz greats. His albums include appearances from Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins and Joe Pass.
During his life and career, Peterson received many awards and honours. These include the Praemium Imperiale (the arts equivalent of the Nobel Prize, presented by the Japan Art Association), the UNESCO International Music Prize, eight Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy), the 1993 Glenn Gould Prize (of which he was the third recipient, the first chosen by unanimous decision and the first ever non-classical musician) and many honourary degrees.
His passion for life, love and music remained strong throughout his life, and he continued to perform until shortly before his death. Oscar Peterson passed away at his home on the morning of December 23, 2007. His legacy lives on through his incredible music.
*from The Canadian Music Hall of Fame
You may also like the following events from Jazz Winnipeg:
- This month, 17th June, 07:30 pm, Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sanchez Trio w/ Diogo Peixoto Trio in Winnipeg
- This month, 18th June, 07:00 pm, Centennial Series: Brent Parkin Celebrates 100 Years of B.B. King in Winnipeg
- This month, 18th June, 07:30 pm, Madeleine Peyroux w/ Erin Propp | 2025 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival in Winnipeg
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