An all-star septet of Messenger Legacy and Jazz Messenger alumni celebrate the musical alchemy of Ralph Peterson: timeless drummer, bandleader, composer, and educator.

Count on an evening of exciting jazz when the Messenger Legacy band appears October 27th at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA. The concert pays tribute to the late powerhouse drummer Ralph Peterson, who founded the Messenger Legacy ensemble to honor his mentor, Art Blakey.

The septet taking the stage on October 27th comprises a mix of former Jazz Messengers and Messenger Legacy stalwarts, including some of the best and most versatile players now on the jazz scene: tenor saxophonist Bill Pierce, alto-saxophonist, Craig Handy, trumpeter Brian Lynch, trombonist Robin Eubanks, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, pianist David Hazeltine and drummer Kush Abadey.

The concert will showcase compositions by Ralph Peterson and members of the forward-thinking Messenger Legacy band. The evening will include tunes from 2020’s Onward and Upward—Peterson’s 25th release as a leader, and recently penned material from band members. This new chapter in the Messenger songbook bears all the hallmarks of great jazz, including the variety of sonic colors, the polyrhythms, the harmonies, the vast reservoirs of blues and soul, and the importance of continuity and telling a story.
Peterson was a literal messenger of jazz, as shown by his lifelong drive to spread the good word of jazz around the globe. He first caught the public ear during the Young Lions jazz era of the 1980s, but even then he was far from a newbie. A third-generation drummer (following his grandfather and several uncles), he grew up steeped in jazz. Peterson knew his way around funk and rock ‘n’ roll, studied with Michael Carvin at Rutgers, and gained more than his share of on-the-job training gigging with organ bands and more in Newark.

The Messenger Legacy septet scheduled to play brings a vast array of jazz experience to the Scullers stage. The lineup of stellar musicians, composers, arrangers, bandleaders and educators includes:

Bill Pierce, tenor sax
Craig Handy, alto-sax
Brian Lynch, trumpet
Robin Eubanks, trombone
Lonnie Plaxico, bass
David Hazeltine, piano
Kush Abadey, drums