On August 22, 2001 I did a Hollywood Bowl appearance, the first of a pre-arranged set of performances on the west coast of the United States. I especially wanted to have a sort of celebration that night at the Bowl as a tribute to a Jazz legend himself – Norman Granz. The program was set up to contain appearances by the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (the Bowl seems to be their residence) and I selected James Moody as a guest soloist to play on the second half of the concert with my quartet.



The evening began with the Orchestra performing excerpts from my Canadiana Suite. As I sat in the wings, I was exhilarated to hear this different and thoughtful reading of my compositions. There were wonderful ensemble segments highlighted by sparkling solos and segues by individual members of the Orchestra. During part of the concert, Herbie Ellis and his wife appeared backstage, rekindling vivid memories of past performances of the Suite by my Trio with Herbie and Ray Brown. I must deviate here for a moment to single out some wonderful and creative solo segments by a young pianist named of Tamir Hendelman. It was a satisfying but strange feeling to follow the various tunes and then suddenly hear a new young voice make some exhilarating and thoughtful solos in the spaces that I used to occupy in those pieces. I was not only pleased to hear this invigorating performance of my work, but also refreshed by the inventive pianistic passages provided by Tamir. I look forward to hearing more from him, and I also anticipate at some point collaborating with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton and the Orchestra on some other compositions of mine.

My Quartet took over the second half of the concert and was joined by James Moody. Before I introduced James, I proceeded to read a 1956 letter to Norman Granz from the then President of the Hollywood Bowl, thanking him for putting on the most successful Jazz evening that the Bowl had ever experienced. I vividly remember that night. It certainly could not be forgotten, taking into account that the program contained memorable performances by Jazz luminaries such as Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum (need I say more?) and countless other musical giants that Norman had put together. Incidentally, this lineup can be seen on the inside of a fantastic album that he issued of that night. Those of you who are fortunate enough to have a copy of that album, hang on to it! It is an irreplaceable monument of Jazz history.


I must take the time here to mention a wonderful reception that was thrown in my honor by John and the presenters of the concert at the Four Seasons Hotel prior to the concert. When I walked into the room I was overwhelmed to see a sea of faces, most of whom were familiar to me from earlier Jazz days, who greeted me with a tumultuous round of applause. The Jazz world was well represented by people such as Gerald Wiggins (a gifted pianist in his own right), Jeff Hamilton (a former trio member), Louie Bellson, James Moody, Quincy Jones, the venerable Benny Carter and other musical dignitaries who figured actively in my appearances in LA in the earlier years. I must comment here that Benny Carter upstaged everyone by his youthful appearance and the aura of the Jazz elegance that he represents. There were many other luminaries in the music field, too numerous for me to list here, as well as the Canadian Consul General, that completed a most memorable evening, capped off by a sensitive and inventive performance of an original composition dedicated to me and performed brilliantly by Tamir Hendelman. It was like a flashback to my days of travelling with Jazz at the Philharmonic. What an exhilarating and emotional evening! It served to energize me in countless ways for my upcoming concert the following night at the Bowl.

After a brief rest of a couple of days, the Quartet headed for San Francisco and our weeklong appearance at Yoshi's in Oakland.


©2000 Oscar Peterson