Pete Jacobsen (16 May 1950 – 29 April 2002),
Retrieved 5 December 2011. also known as Peter Jacobsen, was an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist.

Early life and education

He was born Peter Paul George Jacobsen in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. Having lost his sight as a baby, due to a growth behind the

Optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...

, he studied at the Worcester School for the Blind (now New College Worcester) and then formed his own trio, which was good enough to attract local television coverage. In 1969, he moved to London to study at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

. With a keen memory and perfect pitch ( Absolute pitch), Jacobsen's lack of sight was no obstacle.

Career

In London, Jacobsen began to play with saxophonists Barbara Thompson,

Isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers ( mass number ...

's Gary Boyle, and Don Weller. He became a member of the jazz-fusion band Morrissey–Mullen, but it was not until the 1980s that he recorded with them--''This Must Be The Place'' was released in 1985 and ''Happy Hour'' in 1988. Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler recommended Jacobsen for the piano chair with the Bobby Wellins Quartet. Jacobsen would perform on four of Wellins' albums: ''Live... Jubilation'' (1978), ''Dreams are Free'' (1979),, ''ERCO Makes Light Work'' (1983) and ''Birds of Brazil'' (1989). One of Jacobsen's most regular collaborators was Chris Biscoe, with whom he recorded the 1986 album ''The Chris Biscoe Sextet'' and ''Modern Alarms'' (1990). Jacobsen and Biscoe would often perform as a duet and recorded several BBC Jazz Club performances. When Jacobsen passed away, he and Biscoe were planning on forming a band featuring the songs of Lee Konitz. He also played with American trombonist Jimmy Knepper, recording the 1980 album ''Primrose Path'' with Knepper, Dave Green and drummer Ron Parry. For this album, Jacobsen wrote the "Song for Keith". He would also write the song "Black Book" for the album ''Highly Committed Media Players'' which he recorded in 2000 with

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

, Steve Clarke,

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disban ...

, Chris Laurence, Laurence Cottle, Wolfgang Schmid and Ted Emmett. During this time, Jacobsen, drummer Dave Barry and bassist

Mick Hutton Mick Hutton (born 5 June 1956 in Chester, UK) is a British jazz bassist and composer. Career Hutton is known from the British jazz scene by his work with Harry Beckett (''Pictures of You'', 1985) and with Julian Argüelles, Iain Ballamy, Dja ...

were the resident rhythm section at the Cambridge Modern Jazz Club. In 1988, Jacobsen recorded the album ''Eleven Years From Yesterday'' with the Ugandan jazz violinist Philipp Wachsmann, percussionist Trevor Taylor, the Brazilian bassist and cellist Marcio Mattos, and the guitarist Ian Brighton. Jacobsen also regularly played with the saxophonists Robin Kenyatta, Alan Skidmore, Peter King, bassists Eberhard Weber and

Paul Carmichael Paul Carmichael is an English bass guitarist and composer. Career In his early 20s, Carmichael joined the jazz-rock band Nucleus to play on tour in Germany. He has also toured with Soft Machine and Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia. In the 19 ...

, and with the percussionist Chris Fletcher. He gave memorable solo recitals at the Sherborne Abbey Festival, and at the Brighton Jazz Club, where he was a regular performer. He toured with the Celtic-jazz band Cármina, and played on three of their albums--''Still Between the Sun and the Moon'' (1993), ''Weather in the Heart'' (1995), and ''Love Like Angels'' (2000). In 1994, Jacobsen released his only solo album ''Ever Onward''. In 2001, with drummer Nic France and bassist Simon Woolf, he formed the Peter Jacobsen Trio; their only recording, ''On Your Marks'' (2001), was a live album, recorded at the Peterborough Jazz Club. Through the 1990s, Jacobsen worked with Tim Whitehead's quartet and trio; he played on two of Whitehead's albums--''Authentic'' (1991), and ''Silence Between Waves'' (1994). It was Whitehead who noted that Jacobsen spent much of his time in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have un ...

, playing with unknown and/or struggling musicians and, as a result, never got the press attention he deserved.

Death

It was also Whitehead with whom Jacobsen went on his final tour, a series of gigs at rural English arts centres. Their last show was at Althorpe, Lincolnshire, on Sunday 14 April, 2002. By the time they returned to London, Jacobsen was clearly ill and Whitehead insisted that he see a doctor; Jacobsen passed away a few days later, at age 51. In 2012, FMR Records released the compilation ''For Pete's Sake Volume 1''. The album includes the song "1817", which Jacobsen wrote for Kenny Wheeler but not had been recorded. Jacobsen's last recording was on Phil Burdett's ''See You Later, Forever'', which was completed and released in 2003. The title refers to Jacobsen, and Burdett dedicated the album to him, with the notation "In Memoriam: Pete Jacobsen 1950-2002 A beautiful man & musician of exalted versatility & soul."

Discography

* 1978 – ''Live... Jubilation'' ( Bobby Wellins Quartet) * 1979 – ''Dreams Are Free'' ( Bobby Wellins Quartet) * 1980 – ''

Primrose Path Primrose Path or The Primrose Path may refer to: *Original quote from Hamlet I, iii, by William Shakespeare * ''The Primrose Path'' (Stoker novel), an 1875 novel by Bram Stoker *''The Primrose Path'', a 1915 play by Bayard Veiller *''The Primrose P ...

'' ( Jimmy Knepper) * 1983 - ''ERCO Makes Light Work'' ( Bobby Wellins Quartet) * 1984 – ''Hi-Fly'' ( Peter King with the Philippe Briand Trio) * 1985 – '' This Must Be the Place'' ( Morrissey–Mullen) * 1986 – ''Chris Biscoe Sextet'' ( Chris Bisoe Sextet) * 1988 – ''Happy Hour'' ( Morrissey–Mullen) * 1988 – ''Eleven Years From Yesterday'' ( Phil Wachsmann, Peter Jacobsen, Ian Brighton, Marcio Mattos and Trevor Taylor) * 1989 – ''Birds of Brazil'' (Bobby Wellins Quintet with the Delmé Quartet) * 1990 - * ''Modern Alarms'' ( Chris Biscoe) * 1991 – ''Authentic'' ( Tim Whitehead Quartet) * 1993 - ''Still Between the Sun and the Moon'' (with Cármina) * 1994 – ''Silence Between Waves'' (Tim Whitehead Quartet) * 1994 – ''Ever Onward'' (solo) * 1995 - ''Weather in the Heart'' (with Cármina) * 2000 – ''Highly Committed Media Players'' (Network) * 2000 - ''Love Like Angels'' (with Cármina) * 2001 - ''On Your Marks'', Peter Jacobsen Trio (with Simon Woolf and Nic France) * 2003 – ''See You Later, Forever'' – Phil Burdett (featured on organ and piano) * 2012 - ''For Pete's Sake Volume 1'' (Compilation), FMR Records

References

External links

* * * * * Staff (2002).
"Undervalued Pianist on the British Jazz Scene"
''

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