Oscar Peterson was a renowned Canadian jazz pianist born in 1925 in Montreal. Some key facts about his life and career include that he began playing piano at age 5 but switched to piano at 7 due to tuberculosis. He won a radio competition at age 14 and joined a popular Canadian jazz band at age 17 before moving to the US to perform at Carnegie Hall at age 24. One of his most successful recordings was the 1962 album "Night Train" with his trio of Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. He influenced many other pianists including Hiromi Uehara who sometimes performs tributes to Peterson in her concerts.