On his 90th birthday, Oliver Jones reflects on his connection to Oscar Peterson

Jazz legend Oliver Jones turns 90 today. To mark the event, the Montreal International Jazz Festival held a special show in July, featuring performances from pianists Taurey Butler, Rafael Zaldivar, Lorraine Desmarais and others. 

Moved by their interpretations of nine of his original pieces, Jones decided to also perform, even though he hadn't initially planned to. "I was in seventh heaven," he tells Q's Tom Power in an interview in his Montreal home.

The piece Jones decided to perform was Hymn to Freedom by his hero and role model, the celebrated Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. "It just lent itself to that moment more than anything else," Jones said about the piece. "And they all loved it. It was such a wonderful feeling, and I always think more than anything else that I'm honouring Oscar."

Jones was born and raised in Montreal's Little Burgundy neighbourhood where he was taught to play piano by Peterson's older sister, Daisy. 

When a five-year-old Jones heard Peterson play for the first time at the Union United Church, which he says held concerts every Thursday, he recalls being amazed by the size of Peterson's hands.

"How is he going to be able to put those big fingers in between without hitting or making mistakes?" Jones recalls thinking. He still remembers the serious look on Peterson's face during his flawless performance. "I wanted to play like that."

Despite a lifelong friendship, the two pianists only performed together once in 2004, four years after Jones had retired.

"People don't remember or they don't believe it, but I had not even touched a piano in those four years," he tells Power. Jones made an exception when he was offered the opportunity to play with his mentor in celebration of the 25th Montreal International Jazz Festival.

While Peterson was still performing at the time, his dexterity in his left hand was low as a result of a stroke. "When he played with me, he was really just using his right hand. And his right hand sounded like three of our normal hands," Jones says.

He remembers both of them crying after performing Hymn to Freedom together in 2004.  "Looking across, I was thinking of all the years that he has been a part of my life, both him and his sister. [She] introduced me to the world of music, but he was my inspiration."

Almost 17 years after Peterson's death, the two jazz legends' journeys remain intertwined. Peterson's daughter, Céline Peterson, was behind the July celebration of Jones's 90th birthday.

The full interview with Oliver Jones is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Oliver Jones produced by Ben Edwards.