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24/12/2007 2:40:25 PM

Internationally renowned Canadian jazz pianist and trumpet player Oscar Peterson has died.

Oscar Peterson performs in concert at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in this July 7, 1983 file photo. (Marc Miller / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The 82-year-old died at his Mississauga, Ont. home on Sunday from kidney failure and other complications following a stroke several years ago, sources have confirmed.

Veteran politician Bob Rae — a close family friend of Peterson — told CTV that he heard the news from Peterson’s wife Kelly Sunday night.

“I’d been over to visit a couple of weeks ago. He’d been okay, but he was obviously failing,” Rae said on Monday. “It was not quite the Oscar we’d all come to know and love.”

Rae said that while the news did not come as a shock it was a great loss to the nation.

“He’s probably Canada’s best-known citizen internationally. No Canadian has done more in the cultural musical field than Oscar, and really as a humanitarian and a fighter for civil rights,” he said.

According to his website, Oscarpeterson.com, he was the fourth of five children born to parents Daniel and Kathleen. Peterson was born in 1925.

He began playing music when he was five, first under the tutelage of his father, a porter with Canadian Pacific Railways who was also a self-taught piano player, then later under the guidance of Paul de Marky, a respected classical pianist from Hungary.

Peterson’s introduction to jazz music also came at an early age. Growing up in Montreal’s poor, predominantly black Little Burgundy neighbourhood in the 1920s and ’30s, he was surrounded by a then flourishing jazz culture that came to define his long career.

His influences are said to be Teddy Williams, Nat King Cole and Art Tatum.

Peterson’s first national exposure in Canada came when he was 14, when his older sister Daisy arranged for him to audition for a national amateur competition. He went on to win the contest.

Oliver Jones — a friend of Peterson’s since childhood — said people could tell Peterson was destined for big things from an early age.

“He had this aura . . . we just knew he was slated for greatness,” Jones told CTV Newsnet from his home in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

“I don’t believe we ever knew just how much of an impact he would have on the world scene.”

Known as a virtuoso piano improviser, Peterson was described in a 1975 Maclean’s article as the “Best Damn Jazz Piano” player in the world.

On top of his technical and musical brilliance, Peterson was known for his left hand dexterity — his ability to spin creative, complex and clear streams of notes effortlessly with his accompanying hand.

It was also his left side, however that was weakened when he suffered a serious stroke in 1993. He never recovered fully, but played on a limited basis several years later until his death.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion issued a statement on Monday, expressing his condolences to the family of the man he said was “one of the greatest pianists and composers the jazz community has known.”

“I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Mr. Peterson’s family and friends. I share in the grief of the millions of fans with whom Oscar Peterson shared the tremendous gift of his remarkable music,” Dion said in the statement.

Among the many awards Peterson collected during his 50-year career, he received eight Grammys, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement and was a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Jones, a piano player himself, described Peterson as the epitome of “a complete musician.”

Jones said he knew what he wanted to do and was determined to be the best jazz pianist – not an easy task for a young black man growing up in Canada during the 30s and 40s.

“I’m thankful that he passed away at home with his family, apparently very peacefully and with dignity,” Jones said.