The Most INSANE Music Interview

My late Father was a jazz pianist, based in West London, UK. He was well known locally but he wasn't famous. Oscar Peterson was his hero, and one evening in the early 1980's he had the greatest privilege of having dinner with Oscar at a hotel in central London. Oscar's people even sent a limo to pick my father up. My Father had the best night of his life, and always remarked how charming and funny Oscar was. He was truly humbled by him. But the funniest part of the story is that Oscar was actually late down to dinner, keeping his guests waiting. And the excuse Oscar gave was that he was watching the Muppet Show on TV. Absolutely true story. Hero's don't get any cooler than that that do they?

Cavett was one of the great interviewers. Very laid back and genuinely interested. They played reruns of his various shows on local TV until about a year ago, and they were always riveting, no matter who it was. Back when American had an attention span. Rick, you could not have found a better role model, and it shows. Love your interviews.

Seeing Beato so fired up about Cavett's Oscar Peterson interview made my day.

I agree completely about Dick Cavett but also wanted to say you are in a class by yourself...as a musician and an interviewer.....and you provide an immeasureable service and blessing to so many ......thank you Rick

When I was doing my undergrad degree in music, Oscar Peterson was professor emeritus. Even when he was really sick, he still came and watched our Jazz ensembles play! We'd be scared out of our wits when we saw him sitting at the back, blowing our silly undergrad solos, but he always had time for a kind word when we worked up enough courage to go talk to him after our set. Such an incredibly kind man and an eternal icon to the music.

I was 18 years old in 1994, and had just joined the Navy. I came from a small cow town in Texas, and didn’t know much about music, other than some country and grunge. We were in the Pacific Ocean, heading west to the Persian Gulf, when I went into our ship’s store one day. It was a matter of having some money and no place to spend it, so I made it to the little CD music section of the shop. To this day I don’t know how stocked the store with CDs but whoever it was, changed my life. I ended up finding lots of Verve jazz music there over the next couple years, before I left the service, but the first thing I ever bought was an Oscar Peterson CD. It blew me away. Somehow I had existed in the world without having known the world of music could be so complex, playful, beautiful and sad. Many years later, I listen to a wide variety of music—from classical to metal—but I’ll never forget that it was the great Oscar Peterson who woke me up from my sleeping self. God bless his memory!

I'm blown away!! My mother used to have all kinds of jazz musicians coming to our flat in Copenhagen in the 60's and 70's, Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, NHØP, and maybe even Mr. Peterson..? I remember a lunch in Tivoli with Miles Davis and his cousin Herman. Miles asked my mother if she would swap rings with him..!!!! I still have that ring - of course. All of these guys were so incredibly nice to me and mostly very softspoken and showed a genuine interest towards this little Danish kid. Just fantastic.

I agree with everything Rick Beato says here, and I want to add that Rick, himself, is a bit of a genius for highlighting Oscar P.'s greatness. Much appreciated, Rick!

I was the 2nd Recording Engineer on 2 of Oscar’s albums .. he was unreal .. simply unreal… even the takes we didn’t end up using was jaw dropping

Cavett's first autobiography is an incredible read. Highly recommended. I grew up in this era and remember when talk shows were inclined to elevate their audiences instead of dumb them down and pander to them.

Rick, I love that you expose your audience to all kinds of musical influences across many genres and generations.

Rick, I like the way your interviews leave space and time for an individual’s personality to reveal itself, which answers so many questions all at once.

Interviews like this don't happen anymore because we don't have intelligent hosts like Dick Cavett anymore and we don't have audiences wishing to increase their knowledge or skills - they just want to be entertained. And I think, Rick, that is why you're channel is so popular because you are offering exactly the recipe for greatness that you are calling out here with Dick and Oscar. Thank you!

Dick Cavett was probably the best of the breed for what he did. So intelligent and articulate--and he never EVER dumbed it down. He respected his audience enough to keep it at that high level. His interview with Hendrix is another gem.

Notice how sophisticated their casual vocabulary is. People were just smarter back then.

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! One of the finest interviews EVER!!!

Rick you are doing something important for the music community, infact more important than most people understand. By interviewing all these famous artists you are actually archiving their genius for future generations. Their music, litterature and interviews is all we have left from them once their gone.

When I was 15-years-old I worked part time at a Radio Shack store in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. One day I helped a customer select a microphone and portable audio mixer, that customer was Oscar Peterson. 😯 The store manager asked me if I knew who my customer was after he left … I did not at the time. Ever since then every time I see / hear anything Oscar Peterson did I am blown away by his talent and I am more honoured to have met him! In that brief interaction with him Mr. Peterson was humble, gentle, and kind.

Rick, thank you so much for your "conversations" with musicians. Your format is as comfortable as 2 friends shooting the breeze while being informative. Your channel sustained me during lockdowns. Truly a gifted musician and presenter. Cheers from 🇨🇦

I met Oscar Peterson in the 1980s when he was the best man at a wedding I was playing at in Ottawa, Canada. He was a gentle man with a great sense of humour and an amazing talent. He will always be remembered.