Lucky Peterson in Germany
Burghausen 2019
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Cast
Lucky Peterson — Pianist, guitarist, organist, singer
Raul Valdes — Drummer
Shawn Kellerman — Guitarist
Timothy Waites — Bass guitarist
Rachid Guissous — Pianist
Tamara Tramell — Singer
Program notes
It was less than a year after this concert at the famous Jazzwoche Burghausen festival in Germany (the "Bavarian Jazz Mecca"), that the great Lucky Peterson passed away. He left behind a towering legacy: a true master of the blues guitar and the organ, he began playing music at the age of three in the 60s in New York and quickly started releasing albums as a prodigy under the name Little Lucky Peterson.
The show was made in celebration of Peterson's 50th birthday and he was joined by The Organization, a group with which he formed an enduring collaboration and his wife, the singer Tamara Tramell. Here, the character, bounce, funk and deep blues that made Peterson a star from the start were on full display. Clad in a porkpie hat and a bright yellow jacket, he jumped from the organ to the guitar, sparkling on a repertoire he helped make famous. Aside from his own blues and funk jams he delivered "Voodoo Child," by the great Jimi Hendrix, "Little Red Rooster," by Willie Dixon, his early mentor who championed him at the age of five, and Stevie Wonder's classic "Superstition."
When he steps down from the stage and begins to play in the midst of the audience, taking that old music and transposing it into a moment of pure connection, Lucky's gift becomes crystal clear: he was a conduit through which the great history of Black American music could vibrate and dazzle people from all backgrounds.