Ralph Peterson Jr., jazz drummer and bandleader, dies at 58
Onward and Upward by Ralph Peterson and the Messenger Legacy.
by Giovanni Russonello
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Ralph Peterson, a thunderously swinging drummer who began his career as Art Blakeys last protégé and finished it as a mentor to a new generation of jazz talent, died on March 1 at his home in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He was 58.
His publicist, Lydia Liebman, said the cause was complications of cancer, which he had been fighting for six years.
Peterson came to the fore in the 1980s as a member of the so-called Young Lions, a coterie of young improvisers devoted to the core ideals of bebop: swing rhythm, acoustic instrumentation and rigorous improvisational exchange within the constraints of a standard song form. Within that context, he brought a take-no-prisoners style and a bountiful, collaborative spirit.