I don't know about 'fruity loops' but he's got some great gear there folks. Looks like a Mac, Synclavier (not Memorymoog) Jupiter-8 & uh bunch of other things I can't identify. Does anyone know what the fridge size modular stuff he's using? thanx dudes.
Every person who finds his passion to be his purpose of life, to serve by giving fruit to the fullest of their talent. Every person who is like that is always open minded, at least I thinks so, because they are happy and always looking new ways to express their natural gifts. Gift is a beautiful word to describe it. Oscar Peterson had it but also we received the gift of creation through his talent.
I like that he didn't go into it half-assed with one little synth to tinker with, he's got walls of gear, monitor, floppy disks, printer, the whole deal
Yeah really he seem really into it and completely fluid with the technology - he always was a really smart dude. Awesomeness... And the he starts going on about multi perspectival and multi dimensional cubism and Picasso. Nice.
I read an interview with him back in the 80s in Keyboard magazine. He was talking about reading user manuals for synths he didn't own. He was that interested in the subject.
No MIDI... it's a Synclavier and a Roland Jupiter-8. The CRT screen in the video is actually the Synclavier terminal (not a 'computer' in the usual sense, but an optional peripheral for that synth).
Back in the days, this was rocket science. A Synclavier represented state-of-the-art technology in the late 70's/early 80's. A Synth nerd like Trevor Horn used it for his famous productions of Frankie goes to Hollywood or Grace Jones. Hard to believe for guys of 40 or younger, but polyphonic chords and sampling were quite unique at that time - and yes, for every sound change you had to press many buttons, turn knobs, push scroll bars - and floppy discs were your exclusive storage medium. So it may come as a surprise that a classic Jazz pianist like Oscar Peterson worked with that futuristic stuff. Although his musical approach was quite 'classic' and conservative (he was a hater of disharmonic free jazz), it might show his general openess to new influences and technologies (i remember him supporting the SACD in the 2000's). Funny that he never released an album with synthesizer music, except 'Night Child' in 1979 on which he played e-piano. It would have been interesting to see him exploring new musical territory.
Not to mention that the Synclavier cost a bloody fortune back then. At least $25,000, as I recall. But it pioneered the digital workstation paradigm, and had undreamt-of capabilities for its day. So cool of Oscar, who-particularly at that time -was actually getting some foolishly negative feedback for being a jazz traditionalist, to actually be more cutting edge than anyone with the tech.
imagine what a musical genius like oscar could do with today's technology?? from every interview i've seen with him he seems like such an awesome dude!!!!
This is my favorite video on RU-vid. A true visionary artist embracing the promise and possibilities of the future. God bless the great Oscar Peterson. ❤️
That's not just any old "synth". That is the NED Synclavier II. The most advanced synthesiser/sampler of it's kind at the time. And also the most expensive ever. Great to see Oscar having fun.
@@jamsolo5335 Yeah. It's not that great without the sampler. It's basically the first ever FM synth. The guy who invented it sold the patent on to Yamaha who built the DX7 and others based on it. You have to realise though, this was 1980.
@@TryptychUK As a historic piece it is very interesting. I guess there is also a case to be made for 8 or 12 bit sampling for certain sounds. I can also dig the fact that people are different than me :-)
Not only is this guy the man, but he definitely would have been opening his own PDFs if still alive today. RIP man and thanks for continuing to embrace technology. Great to see from an older person.
that's hot. insight into how he has been following the developments .just a small piece of the film, be curious to see him muck about on the analogue beasts in the room, here is all synclavier.
It is incredible. He was so amazing and successful on the piano and still had the creative drive to learn new technology and push the boundaries of his craft.
This sounds so fresh. His little effortless jam. It’s a shame that musical conventions meant he didn’t really pursue this. I bet some of his recorded synth jams are more interesting than the stuff he actually released.
@@schmodedo from some cursory research he appeared on the front of Keyboard Magazine in October 1983 with similar equipment. I’ve listened through some of his releases around that time and couldn’t find anything with synthesisers. Herbie Hancock really embraced a range of equipment some years before on Sunlight and Feet’s Dont Fail Me Now, but that was more of a disco vibe. If anyone knows of Peterson synth records post them in the comments?
He was just playing jazz changes on a synth and in this video it didn't really inspire a new approach - he was just doing the old stuff with new sounds. Petersen was a master technician and an extremely gifted pianist, but he wasn't a great songwriter or a groundbreaking artist.
Oscar & Herbie were the pioneers of the cultural meld of modern jazz and (then novel) electronic sound design. Didn’t realise Oscar was so ‘in to’ it with all that kit in there, like Roland modular system, Jupiter 8 and Synclavier II. Cool! 😎🤘🎹🎵
This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen...those earlier synths sound amazing. I love his open mindedness for new sounds and this is the first time I heard a synth swing! O.P. Forever!
The camera pans over the Roland System 100M racks as if to say: "when is he going to start patching? when is he going to start cranking out some crazy modular shit!?" ;D
He was working in DOS! Imagine how much fun Mr Peterson would have today with the technology that is now out there. Playing my little Yamaha MOX6 as his first experience with a modern synthesizer would probably bring him to tears, and it has nowhere near the capabilities of the recently released workstation keyboards offered at the same price-point. The state of the science is just amazing. Oscar Peterson was certainly one of the all-time great pianists and it was nice to get to see him in this setting. Not only was he musically gifted, he was extremely intelligent.
In a minor way he reminds me of my dad, an old school photographer who dumped his heavy DLR Maymia kit as soon as a good pocket 35mm became available. He bought a computer in his 70s and used it all the time - keeping the typewriter nearby to type addresses on envelopes while the printer was printing the envelope. I admire all pros who learn the new tools and integrate them into the workstream. It’s harder than it sounds.
I have that computer terminal sitting atop his synclavier. I found one sitting inside an abandoned lathe factory. It was the only terminal that hadn't been smashed to smithereens. I don't really know what to do with it although it is working. Maybe I'll find a Synclavier to use with it lol
This is unfathomably cool. What a class act through and through Peterson was. Neat to see him tinkering on those ancient computers with MIDI I'm assuming?
@@BobKartyMusic Synclavier II had it I believe which is what he's playing but not sure the year of this video. The II came out in 1980 I'm reading and MIDI was 1982 or 3? I guess later updated models had it added. I remember we used to have an old Atari computer that had midi capability and sold it to my nerdy piano teacher's husband when I was in elementary school in the mid 90's. "Other additions added were SMPTE time code tracking (incredibly the Synclavier tracked SMPTE time code in varispeed. if the tape speed slewed or slowed down, so did the Synclavier sequence, adjusting sound duration to match) and reluctantly, as they felt it was non professional when first released, a MIDI interface."
That's not surprising because Johnny Costa (Mr. Rogers' pianist) played with a rococo, florid style like Peterson, and both men possessed mind blowing dexterity.
