Edward Petersen

Ed Petersen, a tenor saxophonist with a robust, expansive tone, draws primary inspiration from John Coltrane while navigating both post-bop and hard bop idioms. Though national recognition has eluded him, he has sustained an active presence on regional jazz circuits, beginning in Chicago before relocating to New Orleans. Throughout the 1980s he anchored performances at the Green Mill, the storied North Side club, where he collaborated regularly with local musicians including guitarist Fareed Haque and trumpeter Brad Goode. His deep Chicago roots made the 1994 decision unexpected when he departed the Windy City for New Orleans to join the faculty at the University of New Orleans as assistant professor of Jazz Studies; there his fellow instructors have included Harold Battiste and pianist Ellis Marsalis. In supporting roles he has appeared on recordings by Haque, saxophonist Frank Mantooth, and the Chicago vocalists Kurt Elling, Jackie Allen, and Eden Atwood. Leading his own sessions, Petersen issued two Delmark albums: Upward Spiral in 1989 and The Haint in 1994.