Common Hour: Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence featuring guitarist Rez Abbasi

The Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence program at York University brings renowned jazz musicians to the Department of Music each year for multi-day residencies featuring student workshops, masterclasses, and a culminating public performance.

Award winning guitarist, Rez Abbasi is featured as part of the Department of Music’s 2026-2027 Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence.

The following session is free and open to the public.

Date: Thursday, February 11
Time: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Tribute Communities Recital Hall
Free Admission

REZ ABBASI
Guitarist, composer, author and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, Rez Abbasi is among a rare
breed of artists that continue to push boundaries from within the traditions he has
embraced. Consistently placing on DownBeat magazine’s International Critics Poll in
Guitar alongside luminaries Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny since 2014, Abbasi continues to
forge new ground with his multi-dimensional projects.

“Abbasi is living, breathing proof that jazz music can be as vital and boundary-pushing as
ever.” AllAboutJazz.com.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, migrating to Southern California at the age of four, schooled
at the University of Southern California and the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and
classical music, along with a pilgrimage in India under the guidance of master
percussionist, Ustad Alla Rakha, Abbasi is a vivid synthesis of all the above stated
influences and genres.

“Mr. Abbasi succeeded in making some fairly cerebral intricacies feel intuitive and
touched by a higher purpose.” – New York Times

The Oscar Peterson Jazz Artist-in-Residence is made possible by a grant from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.