It's night time in Ottawa and a light shines down on a lone figure outside the National Arts Centre. Hands clasped in front of him and clad in dress pants, vest, and bow tie, he sits at one end of a piano bench, as if inviting passers-by to stop and perform with him.
It's the statue of Oscar Peterson, the celebrated Canadian jazz pianist and composer whose career spanned more than 65 years.
Peterson was born in Montreal in 1925, the fourth of five children, and the son of a porter and a housekeeper. From these humble beginnings, he came to be widely considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, winning seven Grammy Awards and numerous lifetime achievement awards. Over the course of his career, he performed with Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, and Billie Holiday, among others.
He was not only a musician, but an inspiring teacher as well. Peterson mentored York University's jazz program and even became chancellor of the university during the 1990s.
As he lived out his final years in Mississauga, the Oscar Peterson School was opened two miles from his home. And as of March 2008, students attending the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus could choose to live in "Oscar Peterson Hall."
In 2005, a stamp of Peterson, commemorating his 80th birthday, was issued – the first time someone still living, other than the Queen, has received this honour.
Peterson died from kidney failure in 2007.
A fundraising campaign was launched in March 2010 to raise $210,000 for the creation of the statue. The project ended up raising more than $250,000.
His bronze statue was created by sculptor Ruth Abernethy and unveiled by the Queen on June 30, 2010, as part of Canada Day celebrations.
Duke Ellington called him the "Maharajah of the keyboard." He was also known as the "Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie."