A Short Quiz "Which British bass player, 70 (in 1998), played and recorded
with Buddy Rich, Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz in the 1950's, was acknowledged
as an influence by the great Charles Mingus, and ran one of London's top
jazz clubs for 10 years in the late 1980s and 1990s?" The Jazz Rag Jan/Feb 1999
Peter
was just 21 when he began travelling to New York playing jazz double bass
on the Queen Mary. He settled in New York in 1951 and America became his
home for the next 15 years. He studied with Lennie Tristano, played with
many great names in Jazz - Lee Konitz, Buddy Rich, Coleman Hawkins, Billie
Holiday. While there he set up a recording studio and launched the Wave
jazz label. Revived in 1977, it still exists today.
Returning
to the UK in 1966, he often performed in duos and trios - most notably
with Martin Taylor. In the 1980s and 90s he ran the very successful Bass
Clef and Tenor Clef Jazz Clubs in London. He now concentrates more on
recordings and playing internationally.
He is
a jazz musician and sound engineer, and also a skilful painter in the
post moderrn idiom, and a collector and restorer of blue and white Chinese
porcelain.