Article Contributed by Missing Piece Group
Published on December 6, 2025
Live Album Celebrating The Jazz Legend’s Artistry Through A Compilation of Never-Before-Heard Performances From 1969-1981
Today, Mack Avenue Music Group and Two Lions Records release Around The World, the first album in a limited series commemorating the centennial year of jazz legend Oscar Peterson. Featuring never-before-heard live concerts from Detroit, Michigan; Basel, Switzerland; Auckland, New Zealand; and Peterson’s home city of Toronto, Canada, the collection shines a light on his immeasurable impact through solo, duo, and trio performances recorded between 1969 and 1981.
“I’ve wanted Oscar’s fans, dedicated and new, to experience all aspects of his artistry by releasing music previously unavailable to the public,” says Kelly Peterson, Oscar’s wife and producer of Around The World. “It’s my hope this will inspire new generations of musicians and encourage all that love his music to celebrate his life and joy.”
The performances collected here reveal the full spectrum of Peterson’s musical universe. As a solo pianist, he turns ballads like “A Child Is Born” and “Here’s That Rainy Day” (presented as a medley) into intimate, searching meditations. In duo format with jazz guitar giant Joe Pass on “Stella By Starlight,” he leans into conversational interplay and harmonic daring. As a trio leader with Sam Jones and Bobby Durham on his own composition “L’impossible,” Peterson drives the band with rhythmic command and explosive swing.
In advance of the album, Mack Avenue and Two Lions shared “Cute,” a rare collaboration featuring Michel Donato on bass and Louis Hayes on drums, which puts Peterson’s famed virtuosity and touch on vivid display.
Beyond sheer technical brilliance, the music on Around The World captures the love, generosity, and spirit at the core of Peterson’s art. Across these concerts, listeners can feel the way his playing lifts the whole bandstand, inviting fellow musicians into new explorations while keeping the emotional center of every tune clear and strong. Each note is packed with feeling—telling the story of more than a decade of evolution in which Peterson continued to push himself and the wider jazz tradition forward.
The audiences heard on these recordings respond with enormous warmth and excitement, greeting Peterson not just as one of the music’s singular greats but as an old and cherished friend. In celebrating the “Maharaja of the Keyboard,” Mack Avenue and Two Lions Records help usher in the next 100 years of his legacy with that same sense of joy and gratitude.
1.) The Lamp Is Low
2.) L’impossible
3.) Reunion Blues
4.) Place St. Henri
5.) Stella By Starlight
6.) A Child Is Born / Here’s That Rainy Day
7.) Cute
Dr. Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOnt., stands among the most prolific and influential jazz pianists in history, lending his name and formidable talents to more than 500 recordings and earning eight GRAMMY Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Born in Montréal’s Little Burgundy neighborhood, his extraordinary facility, determination, and deep love for the music quickly drew the attention of impresario Norman Granz, founder of Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP). After a surprise-guest appearance at a JATP concert at Carnegie Hall in his mid-twenties, Peterson became a cornerstone of the touring ensemble, performing with Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, Lester Young, Lionel Hampton, and many others.
Over a near seven-decade career, Peterson toured the globe almost constantly, becoming one of jazz’s most universally admired artists and a proud ambassador for Canada. His achievements have been recognized with major international honors including the Praemium Imperiale World Art Award, UNESCO Music Prize, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), and numerous honorary doctorates. In his home country, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec, and received the Order of Ontario. Posthumously, he has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and commemorated through public statues, stamps, murals, parks, streets, and a 2022 Royal Canadian Mint commemorative coin.
The Estate of Oscar Peterson, led by Kelly Peterson, continues to honor his life, work, and commitment to artistic excellence. Throughout 2025 and into 2026, the centennial celebrations include archival releases like Around The World, special concert events, and collaborations with institutions around the world—all designed to keep his sound, spirit, and story resonating with new generations of listeners and musicians.
