Drummer Ralph Peterson leads a hip and hard hitting hard bop combo of Gary Thomas/ts-fl, Mark Whitfield/g, Davis Whitfield/p and Curtis Lundy/b through a swinging set at the Side Door Jazz Club in that jazz corner of the world Old Lyme Ct.
Thomas shows he knows how to stir up a groove as Thomas’ flute and Whitfields guitar get artsy over the gliding take of Eric Dolphy’s “Gazzelloni” before Thomas pulls out the tribal sticks and digs into a deep modal “Soweto.” He snaps the team into shape with his ride cymbal as they’re off to the races on ”L’s Bop,” but the leader shows also he can keep it suave and mellow with a gorgeous brush stroke for Lundy’s bass on “MOM” and a suave “I Hear A Rhapsody.” This guy must have a garage full of shovels, because he knows how to dig deep!