TORONTO -- The late jazz pianist Oscar Peterson’s musical legacy is being remembered in a new Heritage Minute released Wednesday.
Peterson grew up in a Black working-class family in Montreal. His father worked as a railway porter who wanted more for his children, encouraging them to learn the piano and brass instruments.
Historica Canada's 96th Heritage Minute focuses on Peterson's upbringing and his rise to celebrity status in the 1940s.
"Oscar Peterson’s music is timeless, and so is his story," Anthony Wilson-Smith, CEO and president of Historica Canada, said in a statement.
"From a childhood of poverty and battles against racial discrimination, he rose to become one of our most celebrated Canadians," he added.
Peterson, who died in 2007, is seen as one of the greatest pianists of all time, and one Canada can call its own.
