Pete Cater was born with a drumstick in either hand on Feb 8th 1963. Growing up in a musical family (his father was a working drummer in his hometown) Pete s innate talent was apparent from the outset and he appeared on local television playing Take Five aged two! By five years old he was already a fan of drummers such as Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Kenny Clare, Mel Lewis and Ed Thigpen, all of whom would offer him support and encouragement in later years.
A professional musician since age 16, Petes early career was spent in live and studio situations in a broad spectrum of musical styles in his home city of Birmingham.
Dissatisfied with the lack of opportunities to play jazz Pete relocated to London in 1993. Quickly becoming established in London, Pete soon gathered a reputation for being a swinging and creative contributor to rhythm sections in all styles from mainstream to contemporary in both big bands and small groups.
The Pete Cater Big Band made its first appearance in 1995, and since that time has garnered a reputation as one of the very finest jazz big bands in British music history.
The band s musical policy can best be described as straight ahead/contemporary and the repertoire covers standards, jazz classics and originals, all arranged in a fresh and exciting, hard-swinging manner, no nostalgia tribute show here!
The band has toured throughout the UK, released two internationally acclaimed albums, and was voted best big band in the British Jazz Awards 2000, and was Critics Choice in 2002. The band continues to work and showcases some of the UK s finest rising stars in its ranks.
Other career highlights include extensive touring in the UK and Europe with the jazz revue shows Thank You Mr Gershwin and Let s Do It starring vocalist Elaine Delmar. These shows brought Pete Cater s virtuosity as a soloist to national attention. His solo style can be best described as an updated combination of Buddy Rich, Joe Morello, Louie Bellson, Philly Joe Jones and Sonny Payne, and in this area he has no equal in British music.
A frequent collaborator with the late saxist Spike Robinson, Pete toured and recorded with Spike s Tribute to Stan Getz with Johnny Williams and Bill Crow, and appeared on Spike s final recording, Young Lions, Old Tigers which was voted Album of the Year in the British Jazz Awards 2002.
Pete did two UK tours with Charlie Byrd s trio and several European dates with Arturo Sandoval s group. In addition he has accompanied many jazz giants over the years including Benny Carter, Harry Edison, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Scott Hamilton, George Masso, Harry Allen, Lanny Morgan, Herb Geller, Tony Scott, Barney Kessell, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Ricky Woodard and many more.
Most recently Pete has taken on the drum chair with the mainstream/swing group The Best of British Jazz following in the footsteps of Jack Parnell and the late Ronnie Verrell. He has also toured and recorded with rising vocal star Sheena Davis and appeared at Montreux in 2002 with contemporary composer Matthew Herbert.
Selected Discography
* Playing With Fire , The Pete Cater Big Band
* Upswing , The Pete Cater Big Band
* Abbey Road Sessions , The Best of British Jazz
* Young Lions Old Tigers , Spike Robinson
* Goodbye Swingtime , Matthew Herbert
* Le Defi , Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
* Smile , Young At Heart , Sheena Davis
Pete Cater is available as a guest soloist with big bands (including charts) and is happy to lend his considerable talents to rhythm sections in all styles.. Please use the interactive form provided at the foot of this page to get additional information. Please check out my website:
www.petecaterbigband.com
