To drummers reading this, I hope that Brian Blade needs no introduction.
Brian is currently raising funds for the following projects:
If you have the means, you can donate here.
Here’s a quick post to give a heads up about a couple of things I’m especially excited about this weekend.
The Bill Charlap Trio is streaming from Smoke both Friday and Saturday nights! This means we’ll get up close with the great Kenny Washington. Get your tickets here.
On Saturday, it’s time to swing with Joe Farnsworth. He’s presenting an online master class in the afternoon. You can sign up and find more info here.
If you can’t make it or if you simply missed Quincy Davis’ interview with Joe, you can find that on Instagram. Quincy has been killing it lately with his Drummer 2 Drummer series and I can barely keep up. So much good stuff over there!
If after all of this you still have money left, please consider donating to Feed the Second Line. They’re doing important work in New Orleans to make sure that the musicians are fed and supported during this time of very limited work.
It’s a sad week. Master drummer and musician Ralph Peterson passed away on March 1st at the young age of 58.
I remember being obsessed with his instructional DVD, which was also the first time I heard a young Melissa Aldana. In the spirit of Art Blakey, Ralph was committed to carrying on the tradition of mentoring young musicians.
I’ve been a fan of Ralph’s for as long as I can remember, but only got to see him play live once.
In 2018 I met John Riley at the Manhattan School of Music for a lesson. As we were walking down the hall, we could hear drumming in the distance. As we got closer and realized where the sound was coming from, John was concerned and remarked “nobody should be in my office.”
When John opened the door to his office, there was Ralph Peterson, helping a student prepare for a gig. What a surprise! I said hello and told him I was a big fan.
Later that week I made my way over to the Jazz Standard for a Geri Allen tribute concert that Ralph put together with Luques Curtis and Orrin Evans. We spoke briefly after the show and I left with such warm feelings.
Rest in peace, Ralph.
