August 15 - Oscar Peterson; Lukas Foss (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 15th are here: Jacques Ibert (2019) and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (2020)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Oscar Peterson (15 August 1925 – 23 December 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist, virtuoso and composer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keyed Up

One seldom finds an utmost peak

Like Oscar Peterson’s technique.

The things he did on piano keys,

Which seemed impossibilities,

Were tossed off with apparent ease.

And by a poignant twist of fate,

Befitting for this piano great,

He died when he was eight-eight.

 

 

♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ 

Lukas Foss (15 August 1922 – 1 February 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karma Chameleon

I must admit I’m at a loss

To write a verse on Lukas Foss,

Whose manner changed so many times

It’s hard to pin it down in rhymes.

Lukas Foss, you see, was apt

To try a fashion, newly mapped,

And when he thought he might be trapped,

The new technique was duly scrapped. 

Envoi

I’ll step aside, it would be apter

To let the critics write this chapter.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.]