Ralph Peterson & The Messenger Legacy Sextet: Art Blakey's Centennial Year

Open Tuesday – Sunday
Closed Monday*
Open for Calls
Tuesday – Sunday: Noon – 6:00pm
Friday – Saturday: Noon – 7:30pm
(925) 943-7469
Open for Walk Up
Tuesday – Thursday: 11:00am – 6:00pm
Friday – Saturday: Noon – 7:30pm
Sunday: Noon – 6:00pm
1601 Civic Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
*In addition to the hours noted, the Ticket Office is also open one hour prior and thirty minutes after curtain for ticketed performances, including performances on Mondays.
August 24, 2019
The Messenger Legacy is an elite line-up of six alumni of one of jazz' most influential bands -- Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The performance commemorates the centennial of Blakey's birth and honors the legacy of the man whose bands became one of the most important institutions of apprenticeship in American music history. Among those Blakey nurtured in their early careers are Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Chick Corea, and Wynton Marsalis. Drummer Ralph Peterson leads the legacy band. He was selected by Blakey to play alongside him in 1983 in the Messenger's two-drummer big band. The band is intergenerational featuring alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, tenor saxophonist Bill Pierce, who were mainstays in the late 70s and 80s, bassist Essiet Essiet from Nigeria, trumpeter Brian Lynch, and pianist Geoffrey Keezer.
Running Time: approx. 75 minutes, with no intermission