Tonight at Sung Harbor one of the leading lights of the modern jazz scene and a key figure among local jazz educators celebrates the release of his new CD. Ed Peterson is a colossus on the saxophone who is also a professor at the University of New Orleans.
He hails from Chicago and his tone on the tenor mirrors that city’s windy weather and the broad shoulders of its citizens. He is as powerful a player as New Orleans has seen since the heyday of the Earl Turbinton and more recently Clarence Johnson III.
Peterson’s understated personality is part of what makes him an excellent educator. He is modest to a point and when people who know him personally or sit in his classes witness his prodigious wailing they are often surprised given his low-key demeanor.
His new album features another local favorite, the pianist Victor Atkins, who is also a music professor at UNO and carries himself with a similar unassuming vibe until he sits down at the keys. As is typical with first class musicians who take their responsibilities as an educator as seriously as their music, Peterson has two up and coming talents who have benefited from his work in the classroom as his rhythm section. The bassist is Tarik Hassan and the drummer is Paul Thibodeaux.
