Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

On August 15, 1925, in a modest walk-up on rue Delisle in Little Burgundy, a boy was born who would grow up to change the sound of jazz—and help define what it meant to be a Black Canadian artist on the world stage. A hundred years later, the city that shaped Oscar Peterson is finally giving him his due.

Peterson’s centenary has sparked a convergence of tributes across Montreal. A new plaza bearing his name is slated for McGill College Avenue. The Montreal International Jazz Festival staged a major tribute concert. The National Film Board is resurfacing archival works, and public pianos dot the city’s sidewalks in the warmer months—a nod to the man once known as “the Maharaja of the keyboard.”