Mark Stryker, there was something particularly special for me about getting my hands on this Oscar Peterson recording, partly because of a personal coincidence. You’re from Detroit, and when I worked as a translator, one of the authors I translated was Elmore Leonard, who lived in Detroit. I translated about ten of his novels and got to know him quite well, including in person. When he came to Italy, we often talked about jazz. He was a huge fan and, about fifteen years ago, he told me that he had seen Oscar Peterson at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. He may well have been there in the audience that night. That’s entirely possible. Elmore Leonard loved that music deeply. And, after all, no one captured Detroit — or at least a certain kind of Detroit — better than he did. He was truly in tune with that world. Yes, and he knew […]
