Erich Peter (jazz bassist)
Erich "Eric" Peter (born February 9, 1935 in Hedingen ; † July 9, 1996 in Aarau ) was a Swiss jazz bassist .
life and career
At the age of ten he came to Aarau, where he later completed an apprenticeship as a commercial clerk . Encouraged by an uncle who was an amateur pianist, he began to play the double bass as a self-taught student . His uncle also introduced him to the Olten jazz scene around Umberto Arlati . With musicians from this environment he took part in the Zurich amateur jazz festival in 1952 and 1953 and won the second prize in the bassist category.
After completing his apprenticeship, Erich Peter went to London for two years, where he immediately made contact with the local bebop scene and made recordings with Kenny Graham , Victor Feldman and the big band of Ronnie Scott , with whom he was on the road for the first time as a professional musician. After his return to Switzerland, he was briefly a member of the dance orchestra of Mac Strittmatter and stepped in after the Kurt Weil - band one with which he has performed in various Western European jazz clubs as well as at the World Exhibition in Brussels. At the end of 1958 he began playing as a freelance musician in the relevant clubs in Paris and then formed the George Gruntz Trio together with the drummer Pierre Favre , which accompanied the Americans Chet Baker and Dexter Gordon and the rhythm section of the Flavio Ambrosetti All Stars who performed at the Lugano and Sanremo festivals in February 1959. He accompanied Bud Powell and Clark Terry on Swiss television ; Barney Wilen also brought him to recordings ( Newport '59 ).
From the end of 1960 Peter worked for a year in Rome for RAI radio , where he completed the studio quartet of Italian trumpeter Nunzio Rotondo together with pianist Joël Vandroogenbroeck and Pierre Favre . In the early 1960s he also played in the American Jazz Ensemble with Pierre Favre and Fritz Münzer . In the summer of 1962 he then moved to Spain for 15 years. As a member of the trio around the blind pianist Tete Montoliu , he recorded several albums and accompanied numerous American and European star soloists such as Lucky Thompson and Ben Webster , at the jazz festival Juan-les-Pins 1966 also the singer Anita O'Day . With the flamenco jazz group of saxophonist Pedro Iturralde , which also includes guitarist Paco de Lucía and drummer Peer Wyboris , he also performed at the Berlin Jazz Days in 1967 .
After an extended stay in Spain, Erich Peter returned to Aarau in 1977 and worked as a bass teacher at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern for five years . Alongside and afterwards he played as a freelancer with various Swiss and international musicians from the field of modern straight-ahead jazz . So he formed the Trio Cojazz with Andy Scherrer and Peter Schmidlin .
Peter participated in 44 recording sessions from 1952 to 1991 and died in Aarau after a long illness.
literature
- Bruno Rub: The team player. Erich Peter (1935-1996), jazz bassist from Aarau . Biography with a discography by Arild Wideröe and an accompanying CD with nine tracks. Verlag hier + now, Baden 2007. ISBN 978-3-03919-053-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
- ↑ Tom Lord Discography
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Peter, Erich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Peter, Eric (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss jazz bassist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hedingen |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 9, 1996 |
| Place of death | Aarau |