Search - Ralph Peterson :: Subliminal Seduction

I remember when Ralph Peterson was the Next Big Thing . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 02/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . way before his fo'tet days. He's always played a lot of drums, although, it must be said, not entire appositely.As he's matured beyond the Young Lion stage and approaches being an Old Master, it's interesting to see how his playing and composing have developed. I detect a huge huge advance in both. His playing, still fiery and declamatory enough, has acquired an honesty and vulnerability. His compositions seem to plumb the depths of whatever form they're exploring, be it Latin ("The Vicious Cycle," "But I Never Left," with its Tom Harrell-ish wistfulness), sophisticated post-bop ("Trials of Trust and Treachery," "Evidence of the Wizard," "Synergy"), or ballad ("Tears I Cannot Hide," "Subliminal Seduction"). I mentioned Tom Harrell above as a possible compostional analog, and the more I listen to this, the more he seems to be operating out of an entirely similar, and, it must be admitted, very attractive compositional vein. Wistful melancholly, with a ray of hope--that's the order of the day here. Gone is the youthful exuberance, replaced with a more sober, hard-won coming-to-terms with life. Not resignation, but realism in the face of hardship, despair, squandered dreams, dashed hopes, yet still capable of exulting in the good times and blessings.I've groused about this type of post-bop session in the past, and unless it's done right, as it is here, it can be very tedious. Ralph Peterson injects this somewhat shopworn jazz idiom with a poignancy and emotional weight that lift it out of the quotidian and into the realm of the singular.I haven't heard the companion disc, The Art of War, but after familiarizing myself with this wonderful music, I'm anxious to. And I think you will be too."