Description

British drummer Pete Cater has been active on the UK jazz scene for 40 years when he first came to national attention having been voted best drummer in the Radio 2 National Big Band competition in early 1980. A long and varied career has found him in the company of legendary jazz names from both the UK and USA, and in 2015 Pete was voted in the world's top five by Rhythm magazine; the only nominee from outside the USA. Pete is no stranger to forming and fronting his own bands, arguably it is this for which he is best known; he first took to the stage as leader of a 16 piece big band back in 1982 aged just 19.
In the ensuing decades there have been and continue to be ongoing large ensembles under Pete's stewardship but until recently he has largely eschewed leading smaller groups.
All that changed in 2015 when after several requests from musicians and promoters Pete assembled a handpicked team of his favourite UK jazz stars and The Ministry of Jazz was born.
I deliberately chose a completely different cast of characters and repertoire from the big band, so nobody felt as though they were seeing some cut-down, reduced price version of it. Also, having for so many years had great success featuring music associated with Buddy Rich I was nonetheless getting a little typecast and felt a need to redress that particular balance.
Also, the band's repertoire borders on the eclectic and can flip from 1930s swing standards to 70s electric jazz rock, by way of hard bop, with the most relaxed insouciance. Pete explains: Almost every jazz show seems to be a tribute show these days, so I deliberately picked a completely random selection of music I happened to like. There's no connection beyond that and it harks back to a time when we used to go to gigs because of who was playing, rather than what. Adrian, Richard and Vasilis have written great arrangements which serve as the templates for our superb soloists. I'm striving for the perfect blend of structure and spontaneity, that way you'll never hear the same show twice.

Description

159 Edward Street,

Brighton,

East Sussex,

England,

BN2 0JB.