Great Canadians of the 20th Century #15

Billy Bishop

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #14

Stan Rogers

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #13Oscar Peterson dies at 82

Oscar Peterson (1925-2007)

Not just Canada's greatest jazz musician, but one of the most talented players the music ever produced, whether swinging hard with his trio (the Ray Brown/Herb Ellis years are hard to beat) in the '50s or matching melodic wits with a variety of fellow geniuses, from Count Basie to Dizzy Gillespie, on a series of duet LPs for Pablo in the '60s. Peterson was a gifted and generous artist, an accomplished composer, and by all accounts a humble and unassuming man who came to life the moment skin touched ivory.

Listening to a live recording of Peterson with bassist Brown and guitarist Ellis from 1958, I can hear a joy and enthusiasm for playing that never gets in the way of delicate, finely measured finger work. Perhaps not a maverick like Art Tatum or Thelonious Monk, Peterson nevertheless brought a new level of sophistication and a higher standard of musicianship to his instrument that many have learned from, but few have mastered.

The Globe and Mail obituary can be found here

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #12

Wayne and Shuster

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #11

Guy Lombardo

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Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #9

Emily Carr in her studio with Sunshine and Tumult, c. 1936

(photo: Harold Mortimer-Lamb; courtesy: National Gallery of Canada).

Guest Contributor: Trish Turliuk

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #8

Gordon Lightfoot

Guest Contributor: Jeff Duncanson

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #7

Glenn Gould

Politicians in Action #10Great Canadians of the 20th Century #6

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau makes like Douglas Fairbanks

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #5

Saul Bellow

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #4

Baron Conrad Black of Crossharbour PC (Can.), OC, KCSG

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #3

Douglas Coupland

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #2

Mack Sennett

(muchas gracias for the image and best wishes for the holidays to Jeff Duncanson)

Great Canadians of the 20th Century #1

Marshall McLuhan