Many South Etobicoke residents are applauding the beloved late pianist Oscar Peterson for being honoured on a Canadian $1 coin.

Peterson, who with wife Kelly once lived in Mimico, is said to be one of the greatest pianist Canada and the world have seen.

He was a proud to represent Canada on international stages performing with some of the best during his six decade career.

The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a one-dollar circulation coin to honour the great musician. The coin, of which there are two kinds, started circulating on August 15, which was Peterson’s birthday.

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 is issuing three million coins depicting Peterson, known as “the man with four hands,” playing the piano.

Peterson, who was born in 1925 and composed more than 400 pieces, during the 1960s lived at Amadeo Garden Court Complex in two apartments overlooking Lake Ontario, according to local historians and residents.
“For years Peterson frequented the mom-and-pop stores along the Lakeshore,” and according to Kelly “loved spending time by the water.”

He was often seen in Marie Curtis Park, which he loved, before moving to Mississauga.
The portrait of Peterson made it into Lakeshore Legends due to his love for the area and its residents, according to the Lakeshore Village BIA, which sponsored the artwork.

Kelly says the illustration also includes the final notes of his 1962 composition, “Hymn to Freedom,” which was embraced as an anthem of the civil rights movement.

Pianist and composer Thompson Egbo-Egbo paid tribute to Peterson with a special performance at the unveiling in Toronto.

Born in Montreal in 1925, Peterson is widely regarded as one of the foremost jazz pianists of his generation, winning numerous Juno and Grammy Awards over 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.