Pete Strange

Pete Strange
Birth namePeter Charles Strange
Born(1938-12-19)19 December 1938
Plaistow, Newham, London, England
Died14 August 2004(2004-08-14) (aged 65)
Banstead, Surrey, England
GenresJazz, Dixieland
Occupation(s)Musician
Arranger
Composer
InstrumentsTrombone
Years active1957–2004

Peter Charles Strange (19 December 1938[1] – 14 August 2004)[2] was an English jazz trombonist, arranger and composer.

Biography

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Born in Plaistow, Newham, London, England,[1] Strange played violin as a child before switching to trombone as a teenager.[3]

His first major gig was with Eric Silk and his Southern Jazz Band when he was just 18 years old.[1] In 1957, Silk's clarinetist Teddy Layton split off and formed his own band, and Strange went with him. He was called up for National Service in 1958 and became a bandsman in the Lancashire Fusiliers, whilst serving in Cyprus. Following this Strange played with Sonny Morris, Charlie Gall, and Ken Sims, then joined Bruce Turner from 1961 to 1964.[1]

After 1964, Turner went into partial retirement for about 10 years, playing off and on with Freddy Randall, Joe Daniels, and Ron Russell, but not carrying any full-time associations. He returned to play with Turner again permanently in 1974, and in 1978 co-founded the Midnite Follies Orchestra with Alan Elsdon.[1]

In 1980, he founded the five-trombone ensemble, Five-A-Slide,[1] which featured Roy Williams and Campbell Burnap.[4]

Strange joined Humphrey Lyttelton's band in 1983, and remained with the ensemble until he died.[1][5] With the other members of the Lyttelton band, he performed on the 2001 Radiohead album Amnesiac.[6][7] He also played with his own side group, the Great British Jazz Band.[2]

Pete Strange died of cancer in Banstead, Surrey, in August 2004, aged 65.[2][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 378. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ a b c "Pete Strange | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. ^ Pete Strange Discography Discogs Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ^ Pete Strange Biography AllMusic Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Pete Strange". The Independent. 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Simon (April 2001). "Radiohead recruit new member". Q. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  7. ^ Amnesiac (booklet). Radiohead. Parlophone. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)