The Montréal of Oscar Peterson

The Montréal of Oscar Peterson

The son of a railway porter and a domestic worker, Peterson was raised in Little Burgundy, the neighbourhood dubbed “Harlem of the North” which during Montréal’s Sin-City era was home to one of hottest jazz scenes on the planet. As Peterson once said, “I had to teach myself by being around the jazz that was being played in Montréal at that time. And there were quite a few good players.” 

Oscar’s first piano teacher was his sister Daisy Peterson Sweeney who was a revered piano teacher in Montréal’s Black community and whose students included another Montréal jazz icon, Oliver Jones.

Oscar Peterson went on to win eight Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award; his 1962 song “Hymn to Freedom” became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement in America; he was awarded the Companion in the Order of Canada in 1984; and in 2005 became the first living Canadian ever honoured on a stamp.

Here are some Montréal landmarks honouring Oscar Peterson.

Honouring Oscar

Construction on a large public square named Place Oscar-Peterson on McGill College Avenue in the heart of downtown is slated to begin in 2028.

Oscar’s widow Kelly Peterson said Montréal “didn’t give him his talent, of course, but its influences shaped him throughout his life. He was so very proud to have been born in Montréal, to have grown up in Montréal, to come back to play the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.”

Oscar-worthy landmarks

While Little Burgundy was the epicentre of Montréal’s Sin City-era jazz scene, Peterson in 1947 began a residency at the downtown Alberta Lounge at the corner of De la Gauchetière and Peel streets, where the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel is located today. Peterson was discovered there by legendary American jazz impresario Norman Granz in 1949, then made his American debut at Carnegie Hall later that year.

Growing up in Little Burgundy, Peterson attended the historic Union United Church (3007 Delisle Street), founded in 1907 by Black railway porters and their wives. Today, a nearby park in Little Burgundy is named after Peterson.

The neighbourhood is also home to two monumental murals of note: the Jazz Born Here mural of Oscar by artist Gene Pendon, located at the corner of Saint Jacques and des Seigneurs streets; and the Tribute to Daisy Peterson Sweeney mural by artist Kevin Ledo, at the corner of Saint Jacques and Saint Martin streets.

In addition to teaching thousands of students – including her younger brother Oscar – to play piano, Daisy Peterson Sweeney in 1974 co-founded the Montréal Black Community Youth Choir at Union United Church, the choir which in 1982 became the famed Montréal Jubilation Gospel Choir under the direction of Dr. Trevor Payne.