''Canadiana Suite'' is a 1965

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

Composition

Peterson envisioned ''Canadiana Suite'' as a tribute to the diverse landscapes of Canada, drawing inspiration from his travels by rail across southern Canada. Beginning in the Maritime provinces with "Ballad to the East", the suite travels west through the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...

of southern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in "Laurentide Waltz", then pays a visit to the neighbourhood in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

where Peterson grew up, Place St. Henri, in the song of the same name. Next, the suite moves on to Canada's next great metropolis,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, in "Hogtown Blues", before heading to the great plains of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

("Blues of the Prairies") and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

("Wheatland"). Finally, Peterson takes us through

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in "March Past", and on into the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

with "Land of the Misty Giants". Explaining his motivation for writing ''Canadiana Suite'', Peterson said "My profession has taken me to every part of the world, none of them more beautiful than where I live. As a musician, I respond to the harmony and rhythm of life, and when I’m deeply moved it leaves something singing inside me. With a country as large and as full of contrast as Canada, I had a lot of themes to choose from when I wrote the Canadiana Suite. This is my musical portrait of the Canada I love." Canadiana Suite has been played on the

Ontario Parliament Network The Ontario Parliament Network (stylized ONT.PARL since 2018) is a television channel in the Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, established in 1986 to broadcast the parliamentary procedure, parliamentary proceedings of the Legislative Assembly ...

along with his 1970 album '' Tristeza on Piano''.

Track listing

# "Ballad to the East" – 4:08 # "Laurentide Waltz" – 5:20 # "Place St. Henri" – 3:57 # "Hogtown Blues" – 3:40 # "Blues of the Prairies" – 4:59 # "Wheatland" – 5:30 # "March Past" – 3:25 # "Land of the Misty Giants" – 4:11 All music composed by

Personnel

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Ray Brown –

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograph ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

1965 albums Oscar Peterson albums Limelight Records albums Suites (music) Composer tributes (classical music) Songs about Canada {{1960s-jazz-album-stub