JohnPeterson is a name that means nothing outside his hometown, but in Muncie,Indiana, he’s a local hero. Peterson is the subject of Robert Mugge’sdocumentary, Giving Up the Ghosts: Closing Time at Doc’s Music Hall.
Muggeis one of America’s most respected music documentarians for his films on bluesand zydeco, Ruben Blades and Sun Ra. Little wonder that much of Giving Up theGhosts’ running time is given to artfully assembled performance scenes asPeterson, a keyboardist as well as physician (hence “Doc’s”), leads his capablejazz band through joyous renditions of Thelonious Monk, The Doors and SmokeyRobinson. But heading a local band is only a small facet of Peterson’saccomplishments. With help from the community, Peterson purchased an abandonedshoe store on Muncie’s old main street and rehabbed it as a venue for touringbands and comedians and an outlet for local talent. His dedication to theproject is credited with reversing the downslide of Muncie’s downtown.
The“Ghosts” in the film’s title refer to the belief that benign spirits haunt theMusic Hall. One of Peterson’s helpers even says that they guided him inconstructing the stage. Peterson claims to have never seen the ghosts, butacknowledges the metaphor. Muncie’s once bustling past was inspiration forrethinking the present.
