TORONTO-
Canadians will soon be able to carry a piece of national musical history in their wallets with the release of a coin commemorating legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.
The Royal Canadian Mint on Thursday unveiled a one-dollar circulation coin honoring the late Montreal artist.
Mint president and CEO Marie Lemay says Peterson is both the first black Canadian and the first musician to be featured on a circulation coin.
The Mint issues three million coins featuring Peterson, known as “the four-handed man”, playing the piano.
The coin will begin circulating on August 15 to coincide with Peterson’s birthday.
His widow, Kelly Peterson, says the artwork also includes the endnotes of her 1962 composition “Hymn to Freedom,” which was adopted as the anthem of the civil rights movement.
“I hope (Canadians) will not only think of Oscar’s contributions as a pianist and composer, but also think of what he stood for,” Kelly Peterson told reporters.
“Let them reflect on the example he set for civil rights and human rights, standing up for people who couldn’t speak for themselves.”
Although his musical talents brought him international recognition, Peterson never forgot he was Canadian, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the unveiling in Toronto.
“I’m so happy that Oscar Peterson’s story reaches every corner of Canada three million times, told over and over and over again,” Freeland told the crowd at Roy Thomson Hall.
“His story is important because he was an incredible, generous and brilliant musician. And that’s important because Oscar Peterson was successful as a black man.
Pianist and composer Thompson Egbo-Egbo paid tribute to Peterson with a special performance.
Born in Montreal in 1925, Peterson is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists of his generation, winning numerous Juno and Grammy awards during his 60-year career.
He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame before dying of kidney failure in 2007 at the age of 82.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 11, 2022.
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