In March earlier this year we invited one of the all-time great jazz drummers, Pete Cater, with his 16-piece ensemble, to make their debut in our Big Band Sunday Lunchtime series at Dean Street.
It was such a success, with terrific audience appreciation from a packed house, that we had no hesitation in planning this immediate return. This will be a Summertime concert, for more of the same style, with a different but equally compelling programme.
All the best popular music that emerged in the twentieth century has one unifying, compelling feature. The beat!
In the return of this concert package, British and world drum star Pete Cater –(well known to Dean Street audiences for his key role with the Simon Spillett Big Band), brings together his drumming magic, with a high energy, exciting performance featuring his 16-piece Big Band
In the days before electric guitars achieved global domination there was a golden era of jazz and big bands, and the biggest star instrumentalists of this age were the drummers. Starting with legendary figures including Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Jo Jones, and followed in later years by Joe Morello, Art Blakey, Shelly Manne, Mel Lewis, Sonny Payne and so many others, these drummers were bona fide stars of music. They generated the all-important, era-defining ‘swing’ as well as being show-stopping, star soloists in their own right.
Then everything changed with drummers sitting at the back between banks of guitar amplifiers.
In this Big Band Sunday Lunchtime concert at Dean Street, the drums are back out front. The Great Drum Show celebrates not only the greatest hits of the greatest hitters of this golden age, but also includes the all-important ‘groove’, the hallmark of more modern times.
The Great Drum Show features a wonderfully eclectic, wide-ranging repertoire, including new arrangements of classic tunes plus historic scores performed exactly as the composers intended. From Ellington and Basie, via Buddy Rich, Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis, to more modern compositions from the likes of The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Steely Dan.
Here’s Pete Cater leading his big band in a great arrangement of “Bugle Boy Rag.”
“A gifted & versatile drummer at home in any context” – Rough Guide to Jazz
This is another great Sunday lunchtime Big Band concert from JBGB Events and a must for music fans of all ages.
