In A Mellow Tone, November 20: To Russia with not so much love: 50th anniversary of Oscar Peterson's abrupt departure from Russia

On November 19, 1974, Oscar Peterson abruptly cancelled a 3-week tour after a week because of his mistreatment by the Russian organizers of the tour, but not before he recorded a live performance

Nov 19, 2024

On this show, we will delve into a little-known diplomatic incident of 50 years ago (November 19, 1974), when Oscar Peterson, Neils-Hennig Orsted Pedersen, and Jake Hanna ended their tour of Russia after substandard treatment by Russian officials. Just two days before flying out of Moscow on the first available flight to the West (to Copenhagen), the trio recorded a live album in Tallinn, Estonia (then part of the Soviet Union). We will hear that concert in its entirety.

Within nine days of fleeing the Soviet Union, Oscar Peterson was in a London studio recording a duo album with Dizzy Gillespie. We will hear two tracks from that album (Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie). Gillespie won a Grammy for his performance on this album. On this album, and the others he recorded in late 1974, Peterson plays the organ which he rarely played. In my view, playing the organ rarely was a good choice.

In December, on his return to North America, Peterson went into the studio in Los Angeles and recorded a duo album with Roy Eldridge and a trio album with Ray Brown and Joe Pass. We will hear a track from each of these albums to end the show.

Jazz On The Rideau

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