Biography of Pete Canter

Pete Canter began playing on the London jazz scene of the 1980s/90s and then spent several years playing in Wales before moving to the Southwest in 2001. Since then he has firmly established himself on the UK jazz scene as a fine player with an exceptional sound. He is well known for his intense, straight ahead playing on the hardbop and latin material he favours, and for his exquisite tone on ballads and slower tunes. In 2005 Pete was awarded an Artsmatrix grant to study jazz composition with Iain Ballamy and he has gone on to become a prolific composer, writing for his quartet and for his trumpet & tenor led band Pete Canter's OCTOBER QUINTET. He has gone on to perform with Iain Ballamy on several occasions most recently in the Teignmouth Jazz Festival and the North Devon Festival in 2007. His bands have supported Polar Bear and Kyle Eastwood and he has played with Harry Beckett, Ted Beament and Jim Fryer along with many other fine UK jazz musicians. He plays around the UK in duo, trio, quartet and quintet formats with diverse line ups including a great combo with top Bristol pianist Jim Blomfield.