Sara Fishko gets into Oscar Peterson and his music right away. It's a classic grab you moment from the outset.

Ms Fishko recognizes the best way to "get" Oscar Peterson is to hear him play, pop in for a few seconds with a biographical highpoint, follow it with a Peterson sound bite or brief conversational back and forth, and then let the music fade up and establish itself once again.

There's a lot of insider language that surrounds the essence of music making, and it frequently is at the heart of radio's deadliest moments as we attempt to explain something so inside it's irrelevant or too inside that it's unexplainable. Some musicians talk well, and it's a program high point when Oscar Peterson explains what does it mean to play "pianistically."

Several historic Oscar Peterson events (most notably a devastating rendition of "I Get Along Without You Very Well" from London's Royal Festival Hall in 1978), endow this hour with special warmth and additional credibility.

While the reality of the music we play on the radio becoming background music is troubling in certain contexts, there can be background music programming of substance and purpose. This program will entertain and please listeners both in the background of their listening room or if they sit perched in front of their radio.

With his recent passing, the best programming option is the sooner the better. This includes after your evening news block, during the dinner hour and late evening. Weekends: all day and night.