Born in Montreal, Canada, Peterson began learning trumpet and piano from his father at the age of five, but by the age of seven, after a bout of tuberculosis, he concentrated on the piano. Some of the artists who influenced Peterson during the early years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson, and the legendary Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years. In fact, one of his first exposures to the musical talents of Art Tatum came early in his teen years when his father played an Art Tatum record to him and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he didn't touch the piano for over a week.
He soon developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive jazz pianist, and became a regular on Canadian radio. His United States introduction was at Carnegie Hall, New York City in 1949 by Norman Granz; owing to union restrictions his appearance could not be billed.
Some of his musical associates have included Lester Young, Ray Brown, Ben Webster, Herb Ellis, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Armstrong, Stéphane Grappelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Count Basie, and Stan Getz. An important step in his career was joining impresario Norman Granz's labels (especially Verve records) and Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package, with which he was able to play with the major jazz artists of the time. Granz was also his manager for most of Peterson's career. Some cognoscenti assert that Peterson's best recordings were made for the MPS label in the late 'sixties and early 'seventies. For some years subsequently he recorded for Granz's Pablo Records after the label was founded in 1973 and in more recent years for the Telarc label.
In 1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. However he overcame this setback and went back to touring, recording, and composing on a limited basis. In 1997 he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award. He died on December 24th, 2007 of kidney failure.
Round Midnight
Oscar Peterson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Round midnight, midnight
I do pretty well, till after sundown
Suppertime I'm feelin' sad
But it really gets bad
'Round midnight
Memories always start 'round midnight
When my heart is still with you
And ol' midnight knows it, too
When a quarrel we had needs mending
Does it mean that our love is ending
Darlin' I need you, lately I find
You're out of my heart
And I'm out of my mind
Let our hearts take wings'
'Round midnight, midnight
Let the angels sing
For your returning
Till our love is safe and sound
And old midnight comes around
Feelin' sad
Really gets bad
Round, Round, Round Midnight
Oscar Peterson's "Round Midnight" is a mournful love song that tells the story of a man who is lost without his lover. The lyrics start by painting a picture of a man who is doing well until sundown, which is when he starts feeling sad. As the night continues and midnight approaches, memories of his love start to flood his mind. He tries to fight them off, but they persist, leading him to think about whether a recent quarrel means the end of their relationship.
The chorus of "Round Midnight" is the most powerful part of the song. It's a plea for his lover to return to him, to let their hearts take flight, and to be reunited once again. The lyrics convey a sense of desperation, with the singer feeling like he's losing his mind without his significant other. The line "Let the angels sing for your returning" is especially poignant, as it is a beautiful metaphor for the idea that love can transcend time and space.
Overall, "Round Midnight" is a beautiful jazz standard that continues to resonate with listeners today. It speaks to the universal experience of love and loss, and serves as a touching tribute to the power of a truly great love.
Line by Line Meaning
It begins to tell
The story begins
'Round midnight, midnight
Late at night, around the time of midnight
I do pretty well, till after sundown
I'm okay until the sun sets
Suppertime I'm feelin' sad
I start feeling sad around dinnertime
But it really gets bad
But my sadness becomes worse
'Round midnight
Around midnight, the sadness becomes unbearable
Memories always start 'round midnight
My memories begin to resurface around midnight
Haven't got the heart to stand those memories
I don't have the emotional strength to deal with those memories
When my heart is still with you
When my heart still belongs to you
And ol' midnight knows it, too
Midnight is aware of my heart's longing
When a quarrel we had needs mending
When we need to fix a past argument
Does it mean that our love is ending
Does that mean our love is over?
Darlin' I need you, lately I find
My love, I need you. Lately, I've noticed
You're out of my heart
You're no longer in my heart
And I'm out of my mind
And I'm losing my sanity
Let our hearts take wings'
Let our love soar
'Round midnight, midnight
Late at night, around the time of midnight
Let the angels sing
May the angels sing
For your returning
For your return to me
Till our love is safe and sound
Until our love is secure and stable
And old midnight comes around
When midnight returns
Feelin' sad
Feeling sad
Really gets bad
The sadness becomes worse
Round, Round, Round Midnight
Around and around, midnight brings the overwhelming sadness.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cootie Williams, Bernard D Hanighen, Theolonious S Monk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steffen W. Brandenstein
To hear Oscar Peterson (a legend) talk about Thelonious Monk (another legend) in such high regard, truly speaks about not only the character of Oscar Peterson but also of the talent and skill of Thelonious Monk. Really a blessing to have both of them make such complex and beautiful music.
Bruno Gebarski
As Maestro Oscar Peterson said, the complexity of Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) is so gigantic, complex and colorful that it takes an outstanding pianist to even dare to improvise on such a tune: I remember as a music student, sweating just studying the chord progression, trying to figure out what scales this genius mixed together to get such a jazz tapestry of chord development! Here again the brilliant and surprising treatment of Maestro Peterson's both magical hands and unique touch...
Learning
You can hear out the respect he shows to Thelonious Monk. He contributed his playing to the tune, he connected Thelonious' harmony. But he didn't change the tune, he didn't add his own ideas that directly. He demonstrated Round Midnight and explained it in his playing.
Smith W1984
It's hard not to like this, Peterson is great. But now I'm filled with an urge to listen to Monk playing it. No one can beat the original and I don't care about no speed, dexterity or whatever. There's no shredding, every note has it's exact place and purpose, resonating with the everlasting universal power of creation around us.
marktarmannpiano
And, though Monk's technique is not nearly as expansive as Peterson's, the technique he does use is crystal clean, the rhythmic placement always effective, and his phrasing is astoundingly original and influential. Peterson continued the tradition from Tatum a bit forward, but Monk takes it to completely new place, not only with his compositions, but with his playing. "every note has it's place and purpose". Exactly. No fluff and fill. Every note very much in the rhythm pocket.
CoolCat123450
Theolonious Monk was a jazz legend. Oscar showed that in his own light, and I think he did it quite well.
Brian Russick - Drummer / Percussionist
a legend playing a legend; so classy.
Louis Lark
A phenomenal Oscar Peterson's " Round Midnight" rendition played with a pensive, opulent, splendid, jazzy style precision with lots of 🎹 piano technical twists and turns. What a ravishing 🎹 piano opus! I immensely enjoyed!
kaleidoscopio5
He had the most beautiful technique I saw in a pianist. Like Rubinstein, smooth, relax and full of color. Amazing.
HauschkaEST
I swear, no one's sound travels up and out of the piano like Oscar's. It's lovely, never stuck but always free.