The best Oscar Peterson’s documentary movies

Oscar Peterson

Oscar Peterson

15/08/1925- 23/12/2007
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Oscar Peterson’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Oscar Peterson.

Piano Blues

Piano Blues
7.3/10
Director — and piano player — Clint Eastwood explores his life-long passion for piano blues, using a treasure trove of rare historical footage in addition to interviews and performances by such living legends as Pinetop Perkins and Jay McShann, as well as Dave Brubeck and Marcia Ball.

Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark

Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark
7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 13/05/2014
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
Take an in-depth look at the life and talent of the trailblazing musician who conquered racial barriers to leave an indelible mark on the jazz world.

Oscar

Oscar
Brilliantly mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson.

Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages

Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 07/11/2002
  • Character: Self
Veteran radio, theatre, television and film actor Christopher Plummer has played a thousand parts, but beneath that elegant stage presence lies the restless heart of a risk-taker. Don't miss this engaging biography.

Music According to Tom Jobim

Music According to Tom Jobim
7.8/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryMusic
  • Release: 20/05/2012
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.

The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration

The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration
The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration - Andrea Martin and Alan Thicke co-hosted the 90-minute event on June 3, 1989, complete with songs written specifically for the celebration with over 5,000 performers which was broadcast nationwide on the CBC,

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar
7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1995
  • Character: Narrator
This riveting music documentary traces the history of Jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz and the ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this award-winning autobiographical portrait, legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson narrates his story, from his beginnings in smoke-filled Montreal clubs to hallmark performances with jazz greats. Concert footage includes an unforgettable combo -- Nat King Cole with Jazz at the Philharmonic and the Oscar Peterson Trio Wall reunion. Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie are interviewed, among others. - Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ella Fitzgerald

The Memories of Angels

The Memories of Angels
7.6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 05/09/2008
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
Montreal of another time is reborn into screen through images from a hundred of movies and shorts produced by the National Film Board of Canada while at its first four decades of existence. Port activities, musical shows, presence of Church, labors life, hockey fever and the best years of "Red Light" are few of the chapters of this collective family album.

Improvisation

Improvisation
7.1/10
Improvisational jazz performance filmed in 1950 by Gjon Mili plus Duke Ellington Trio filmed in July 1966, Count Basie at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1977, Joe Pass 1979, Ella Fitzgerald 1979, and Oscar Peterson at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1977.

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