The Man From Planet Jazz -Tribute to Buddy Rich

Buddy Rich was arguably the greatest jazz drummer of all time. His career spanned seven decades. Immensely gifted, Rich could play with remarkable speed & dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal lesson & refused to practice outside of his performances!

Rich's jazz career began in 1937 when he began playing with Joe Marsala. By 1939, he had joined Tommy Dorsey's band, & he went on to play with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong & Gene Krupa. Rich regularly featured in Jazz at the Philharmonic & he also appeared in such Hollywood films asSymphony of Swing, Ship Ahoy& How's About It.
Throughout the 1960s & 1970s, Rich toured with his own bands & opened two nightclubs, Buddy's Place & Buddy's Place II. After opening Buddy's Place II, Rich introduced new tunes with elements of rock into his repertoire, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his audience's changing tastes & establishing himself as a great rock drummer.
Rich received many honours of recognition including The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame Award, the Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame Award & the Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award. Rich gained international attention for such master compositions as his 10-minute West Side Story medley.
When Rich died in 1987, long-time friend, Frank Sinatra, spoke a touching eulogy at his funeral. Today, Buddy Rich is remembered as one of history's greatest musicians. According to jazz legend Gene Krupa, Rich was 'The greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath.'

 

Pete Cater was born with a drumstick in each hand. His father was a drummer & his grandfather a saxophonist & bandleader.  Courtesy of his Dad’s record collection he was, by age 5, already a devotee of Joe Morello, Buddy Rich & Louie Bellson.
Throughout these early years Pete never missed an opportunity to play. He went to work with his father & sitting in whenever possible. Pete began playing with mainstream jazz musicians & played with US & UK legends including Benny Carter, Barney Kessell, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Ronnie Scott, Dick Morrissey, Humphrey Lyttelton & John Dankworth.

During the 1980s, the era of synth pop & electric drums, there was no tangible career path for a young jazz/swing/big band drummer so he lived a nomadic existence working on cruise ships, theatres & one-night-stands - Jazz had to take second place. After touring Europe in 1992 with Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, Pete decided settle in London where he rapidly became in demand with live & studio work.
As time passed Pete began to work his way in to the jazz scene. He established himself thoughout the UK by touring with singer Elaine Delmar (his stunning, virtuoso solos consistently brought the house down) & with the Charlie Byrd & the Buddy DeFranco/Terry Gibbs quintet.
Pete played with just about every top big band on the London circuit & had strong opinions about repertoire & how big band music should be interpreted. The result of his vision was the Pete Cater Big Band which made its debut on April 30 1995.
In 1997 Pete put the big band on hold whilst he toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. On his return they concluded their debut album 'Playing With Fire' which resulted in Pete being a shoo-in for Big Band of the Year in the British Jazz Awards 2000 & Critic’s Choice the following year.
In 2002 Pete was elevated to the ranks of British jazz royalty when he was first choice to replace the late Ronnie Verrell in the Best of British Jazz, an all-star sextet under the leadership of trombonist Don Lusher. Pete also appeared regularly with Don Lusher’s big band until Lusher passed away in 2006.
Most recently Pete & the big band have been re-examining the Buddy Rich repertoire. The Man from Planet Jazz' debuted in London in October 2007 & was an enormous success. Pete’s next album although not a ‘tribute album’ as such, will be honouring the influence of Buddy’s fantastic musical legacy.

 

Tickets:

Members £16

Non members £21

 

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