< PreviousModern Drummer May 2021 88 IN MEMORIAM Ralph Peterson Jr. May 20, 1962 – March 1, 2021 By Michael Molenda R alph Peterson Jr.—who came to prom- inence in the 1980s as one of jazz’s swinging, improv-driven “Young Lions”— succumbed to cancer on March 1. He was just 58 years old. Peterson’s commitment to bebop—as well as being an avid student of the history of drumming—earned him a long-time spot as the second drummer in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Blakey became a mentor, and, after Blakey passed on in 1990, Peterson kept his mentor’s spirit and legacy alive through several musical projects through- out the years. “Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Philly Joe Jones were my holy trinity, but Blakey was my main inspiration, and he did the most to get me heard in the community by giving me the gig in the Jazz Messengers Big Band,” Peterson told MD in 1986. “Every drummer who has done that gig with him on the same bandstand has gone on to be a voice in the music field. From Blakey, I got the concept of building and constructing a solo with the soloist. While a drummer’s main role is as an accompanist, the jazz language has become more conversational, as compared to when the original role of drummers was being completely in service to the soloists. Now, the soloist is as respon- sible for listening to the ideas coming from the rhythm section as the rhythm section is for listening to the soloist’s ideas. I got all that from Blakey. I would watch him train Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis in the Jazz Messengers. Art would let them know when they made their move too soon, or when they played too long. He would simply go to another intensity of volume level and swallow them whole. They would be pushing and pushing, but you could only hear Art’s cymbals.” Peterson—whose father, grandfather, and four uncles were also drummers—played the trumpet in high school, and when he applied to Rutgers University’s jazz studies program, he failed the percussion exam and had to enroll as a trumpet major. None- theless, it was the drums that powered Peterson’s thoughtful yet bombastic ap- proach to music—ultimately leading him to perform with a dizzying array of jazz talent, appear on upwards of 150 albums, release nearly 30 albums as a band leader (from 1988–2020), start his own record label (Onyx Productions), and become a full professor at Berklee College of Music. He was also a rest-Modern Drummer May 2021 90 less explorer, who managed to evolve while simultaneously holding true to Blakey/bop principles. “He makes hard bop sound daring again,” wrote New York Times music critic Jon Pare- les in 1988, hailing Peterson for not being “stifled” by tradition. Peterson’s unbridled productivity is even more remarkable, considering he fell victim to drug addiction in the ‘90s. “It was no secret—I was a crackhead,” he told MD in 2016. “The only person who didn’t know that everybody knew was me. Addicts are often the last to know. I had help to quit, but it wasn’t an immediate process. I learned that my brain is biochemically different from most people’s brains. I didn’t have a cutoff switch. It took me a minute to learn how to enjoy playing unaltered, because I’d done it high for so long. But I realized I was beginning to do some of my best work. My energy was used to uplift the people I played with, instead of beat them down in some testosterone-induced display of musical machismo [laughs].” Although he had the assumed advantage of having a father as a musician—his father was also Pleasantville, New York’s first Black police chief and first Black mayor—Peter- son didn’t immediately take to his dad’s jazz influences. James Brown and Tower of Power were more vital stimuli at the time, even though his father tried to “keep sounds around” that would help Peterson under- stand what it would take to become a better musician. It obviously worked. Peterson’s lifeforce and music held clues that the teachings of his dad, Blakey, and others— even his six-year battle with cancer—forged a desire to address something bigger than himself. “You can’t separate one’s persona from one’s music,” he counseled MD readers. “The music is a more honest expression of who you are. It’s important to listen. It’s import- ant to play good time. It’s important to not be selfish. Being a musician is actually being a part of the service industry. The thing we serve is the music, and the music is a princi- ple greater than any musician who plays it.” Don Heffington Dec 20, 1950 – March 23, 2021 By Lauren Monroe D rummer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Don Heffington died on March 23, after a short-term fight with leukemia—a loss so many were not ready for. Born into a musical family in Los Angeles, Heffington was known as a drummer’s drummer. Often referred to as a swinging human metronome, he could play it all—jazz, rock, folk, country, and blues—and he was the go-to drummer for producers around Los Angeles for more than 30 years. Heffington’s credits include decades of collaborations with Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Lowell George, Van Dyke Parks, Jackson Browne, Victoria Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Ran- dy Newman, Joe Cocker, Chuck Proph- et, Sam Phillips, Matthew Sweet, Adam Sandler, and dozens more. The luminous and unforgettably talented Heffington was tall, lean, and handsome, with a slow-moving walk and a signature mane that had turned silver by the time I met him. His kind smile lit up a room, and his humble nature downplayed his epic talent. I was one of the lucky ones who had the gift of working with him on my last album, which was produced by Jim Scott. I think everyone who played with Heffington agrees he didn’t just play percussion or drums—he played songs. He heard the details— he could play with dynamics and sensitivity to the song. “Don could not only play the deepest groove at any tempo, he also made a beautiful sound,” remembers Scott. “I loved the way he hit the drums. He hit them so musically, and the sound always fit the song. On top of that, he always looked so cool doing it. He will be deeply missed.” Christine Solomon IN MEMORIAM Ralph Peterson Jr. continued23 exciting and exclusive interviews and jams with legendary artists and Chad being Chad. Drum Channel has 1000 Lesson Videos plus 400 Shows. Now available: “Modern Drummer Legends Chad Smith” special edition.AND MUCH MORE! moderndrummer.com/archive INTERNET SENSATION NANDI BUSHELL MARCO MINNEMANN FRANKIE BANALI’S DRUM COLLECTION Certain people expect me to shine all the time, but artists can’t be at their best every day. No one is perfect. If a song is a good song, it’s much easier for me to play well. But if it’s a bad song, then I might not sound so good, no matter what. That’s the way of music. Also, me and Robbie [Shakespeare, bassist] always try to keep something in reserve. If we perform today and play well, in the back of our minds, we know we could do even better. But we try to hold a little back, so that the next time we play, there is something extra special. Not too many drummers like to think like this—not too many bass players, either—but that’s the way Robbie and I execute the best. 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