Oscar Peterson

“I have a love affair with the piano. It's the most beautiful instrument in the world.”

“The music is the message, the message is the music. So that's my little ministry.”

“I've learned that you can't be a jazz musician and not be a team player. You have to be a team player to be a jazz musician.”

“Some people have been kind enough to call me a technical master. That's what I am.”

“I get a lot of inspiration from my audience. It's a two-way street.”

“I believe in music. I believe in the power of music to heal and to bring people together.”

“My hands are a part of my mind, and my mind is a part of my hands. It's a circle.”

“When I sit down to play, I'm not thinking about the notes. I'm thinking about the feeling.”

“The piano is an orchestra. It's a percussion instrument, it's a string instrument, it's a wind instrument. It's my life.”

“Jazz is a music of the moment. It's a music of spontaneity.”

“It's not just about the notes, it's about the space between the notes.”

“You can't teach swing. You either have it or you don't.”

“My father was a very strict disciplinarian... He taught me that if I was going to do something, I should do it to the best of my ability.”

“I'm not a politician. I'm a musician. And that's all I want to be.”

“It is a music of the people, for the people, and by the people. And it is a music of freedom.”

“The piano is a solo instrument; it's a lonely instrument.”

“What I do is I try to be a storyteller. I try to tell a story with my music.”

“It's the group sound that's important, even when you're playing a solo.”

“If you have something to say of any worth, then people will listen to you.”

“I don't think I'm a natural writer. I think I'm a natural jazz musician.”