Four of Peterson's uncles and his grandfather were drummers. Peterson himself began on percussion at age three. He was raised in Pleasantville, where he played trumpet at Pleasantville High School and worked locally in funk groups. He applied to Livingston College at Rutgers University to study drums, but he failed the percussion entrance exam and enrolled as a trumpeter instead, graduating in 1984.[1]
He began recording as a leader in 1988, with a quintet (Terence Blanchard, Steve Wilson, Geri Allen, and Phil Bowler) on V and Volition. He also worked with Allen and Bowler as a trio in "Triangular"; Essiet Essiet replaced Bowler for the 1988 Triangular recording. In 1989 he recorded in the quartet format as "The Fo'tet" with Don Byron, Steve Wilson (later Bobby Franchesini), Melissa Slocum (later Belden Bullock), and Bryan Carrott. After living in Canada for some time, he returned to Philadelphia, where he worked again with "The Fo'tet,” and recorded as Triangular 2 with Slocum and Uri Caine. He also led the group "Hip Pocket,” with whom he played trumpet.
Bobby Watson, Quiet As It's Kept (Red Record, 1999)
Referencesedit
^Schwachter, Jeff. "A Musical Homecoming for Ralph Peterson; From Pleasantville to Blakey to Berklee and beyond, Ralph Peterson's life in jazz comes full circle with new album and Father's Day concert in Atlantic City." Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Atlantic City Weekly, June 13, 2012. Accessed November 19, 2013. "Peterson grew up in Pleasantville and graduated from Pleasantville High School. He then went to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, graduating in 1984, and 'studying with a lot of big [music] people there,' including Kenny Barron and Michael Carvin."
^"Ralph Peterson Jr. Professor of Percussion". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
^Zimmerman, Brian (1 March 2021). "Drummer Ralph Peterson Jr., Torchbearer for the Jazz Messengers, Dies at 58". JAZZIZ Magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
^Russonello, Giovanni (March 7, 2021). "Ralph Peterson Jr., Jazz Drummer and Bandleader, Dies at 58". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
Sourcesedit
Gary W. Kennedy, "Ralph Peterson Jr.". Grove Jazz online.