Jeff’s Blog

Jazz great Oscar Peterson dies at 82 - Celebrities- msnbc.com
Oscar Peterson, who sat atop the world of jazz piano for decades with his driving two-handed swing, technical wizardry and rapid-fire solos, died on Dec. 23 of kidney failure, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.

This is very upsetting to me. Oscar Peterson was actually an idol to me. His jazz piano playing is (was) incredible and it inspired me. His album, Night Train was one of the first jazz albums I ever bought, and it’s still one I practically worship. He lived a musically successful life, however. It’s just a shame he won’t be working his jazz magic anymore. Herbie Hancock, another one of my jazz idols, said this about Oscar Peterson’s passing:

Oscar Peterson redefined swing for modern jazz pianists for the latter half of the 20th century up until today. I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. He mastered the balance between technique, hard blues grooving, and tenderness. You’ll find Oscar Peterson’s influence in the generations that came after him. No one will ever be able to take his place.

This shows how deeply Oscar Peterson influenced the jazz community. He was truly something special, and he will be missed.

I just came across the article, “Saudi king pardons rape victim“. It’s about how a 19-year-old Saudi girl was pardoned from the charges incurred for being alone with a man whom she’s not related to. She was originally sentenced to “several months in prison and 90 lashes” because she was alone in a car with a man. She was getting a picture of herself back because she recently married someone else. After she appealed to the court, her sentence was raised to 200 lashes and six months in prison.

While she was in the car, seven men attacked them and she was raped. They are now facing charges of 2-9 years in prison. Here’s what really bothers me, aside from the obvious: the US did nothing about it. With all the political and military power we have, we do nothing about it. I feel that we have some responsibility to right the wrong in the world when we have the ability.

U.S. President George W. Bush expressed anger at the sentence earlier this month, saying he wondered how he would react if it had been one of his daughters. But he said he had not made his views known directly to the Saudi king, a U.S. ally.

Our president spoke out against it. That’s all well and good, it’s just that he said nothing directly to the people who matter; he made no change. It makes me mad how irresponsible this country is, with the current war situation and how we could be helping people like this, but we just choose not to.