Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times
G. Calvin Weston, ‘Dust and Ash’
Ralph Peterson, ‘Blues March’
Both of these drummers are in their late 50s, each boasts a hard-charging, wall-shaking style, and they both have new albums out today. In the 1980s Peterson was apprenticed to the straight-ahead jazz icon Art Blakey, while Weston was the youngest member of Prime Time, Ornette Coleman’s renowned bizarro-funk outfit. On “Legacy: Alive Vol. 6 at the Side Door,” Peterson gathers fellow Blakey alumni for a tribute to their former boss, including this 12-minute, gallivanting workout on “Blues March.” Weston, meanwhile, keeps the spirit of Prime Time alive on “Dust and Ash” with his manic, nearly danceable playing. But his pairing of a jazz-rock fusion four-piece and a string quartet yields something spacey and explosive and distinct, especially on the title track.