Pete Chilver

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Peter William Chilver (19 October 1924 – 16 March 2008) was a British jazz guitarist and hotelier. Chilver is credited with having helped establish the electric guitar in Britain, encouraged by Trinidadian guitarist Lauderic Caton. [1]

Biography

Born in Windsor, Berkshire, England, [2] Chilver learned to play the piano as a schoolboy before taking up the guitar. He left school at 16 to work as a draughtsman, but he formed a band to play on weekends at Skindles Hotel near Maidenhead Bridge. He became known as a performer during the Second World War, at first in Maidenhead and Slough, but then also in London with bands including those of Johnny Claes, Teddy Foster, and Jimmy Mesene. During this time Chilver also played with visiting American musicians serving in the military, such as John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, and Art Pepper.

In 1946, Chilver joined Ray Ellington, [2] then Tito Burns, and during 1947 worked with Jack Jackson, George Shearing, and Stéphane Grappelli. By then, Chilver was one of the most prominent British bebop musicians. He played with Ted Heath and Ambrose and as a guest with the Skyrockets accompanied Benny Goodman. [3] In 1949, he was with Ronnie Scott and Johnny Dankworth in Alan Dean's Beboppers.

In 1950, Chilver married Norma Domenico, the sister of Lydia MacDonald (a singer for Ted Heath), and ceased playing professionally. He moved to Scotland in that year and managed a hotel [2] in North Berwick and also a jazz venue and restaurant in Edinburgh. [2] He died in Edinburgh in 2008 at the age of 83. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jazz guitar</span> Jazz instrument and associated playing style

Jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or a guitar playing style in jazz, using electric amplification to increase the volume of acoustic guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Christian</span> American swing and jazz guitarist

Charles Henry Christian was an American swing and jazz guitarist. He was among the first electric guitarists and was a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique, combined with amplification, helped bring the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the forefront as a solo instrument. For this, he is often credited with leading to the development of the lead guitar role in musical ensembles and bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Scott</span> British jazz saxophonist (1927–1996)

Ronnie Scott OBE was a British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district, one of the world's most popular jazz clubs, in 1959.

Donald Percy Rendell was an English jazz musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Wright</span> English jazz guitarist

Denys Justin Wright, known professionally as Denny Wright, was a British jazz guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Heath (bandleader)</span> Musical artist

George Edward Heath was a British musician and big band leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Harris</span> American jazz pianist and educator (1929–2021)

Barry Doyle Harris was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style.

Ivor Mairants was a Polish jazz and classical guitarist, teacher and composer. With his wife Lily in 1958 he created the Ivor Mairants Musicentre, a specialist guitar store in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Conte</span> Musical artist

Steve Conte is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist, music producer, and lead singer of the band Steve Conte NYC. He has worked with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno on a variety of anime soundtracks including Wolf's Rain, Cowboy Bebop, RahXephon and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. He is the former lead guitarist of the New York Dolls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Morrissey</span> British jazz musician (1940–2000)

Richard Edwin Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraldo (bandleader)</span> English bandleader

Gerald Walcan Bright, better known as Geraldo, was an English bandleader. He adopted the name "Geraldo" in 1930, and became one of the most popular British dance band leaders of the 1930s with his "sweet music" and his "Gaucho Tango Orchestra". During the 1940s, he modernised his style and continued to enjoy great success.

John Keating was a Scottish musician, songwriter, arranger and trombonist.

Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist and soloist in small and large ensembles and also as an unaccompanied solo instrument.

William A. Le Sage was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader.

Peter Chilvers is a Cambridgeshire-based British musician and software designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cab Kaye</span> English jazz musician (1921–2000)

Nii-lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye, known professionally as Cab Kaye, was an English jazz singer and pianist of Ghanaian descent. He combined blues, stride piano, and scat with his Ghanaian heritage.

Jack Patrick Fallon was a British jazz bassist born in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Freeman (guitarist)</span> American jazz guitarist from Chicago

George Freeman is an American jazz guitarist and recording artist. He is known for his sophisticated technique, collaborations with high-profile performers, and notable presence in the jazz scene of Chicago, Illinois. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Von Freeman and drummer Eldridge "Bruz" Freeman, and the uncle of tenor saxophonist and trumpeter Chico Freeman.

Lauderic Caton was a Trinidadian guitarist who settled in Britain in 1940. He was an early proponent of the use of electric guitar in Britain, particularly in jazz music. According to Val Wilmer, "he exercised a significant influence on Pete Chilver and Dave Goldberg, the two jazz guitarists more generally credited as British pioneers of the amplified instrument, while his students, official and unofficial, ranged from jazz exponents to the Nigerian highlife specialist Ambrose Campbell and Hank Marvin of the Shadows."

Kenny Graham was a British jazz saxophonist, arranger, composer and essayist, described as "one of Britain's foremost jazz composers and arrangers", and as "a genuine, often overlooked pioneer of the modern jazz movement in Britain".

References

  1. 1 2 Val Wilmer, "Obituary: Peter Chilver", The Guardian , 23 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mathieson, Kenny (1999). "The British Scene". In Alexander, Charles (ed.). Masters of Jazz Guitar (1st British ed.). Balafon. pp. 163–. ISBN   0-87930-592-4.
  3. Discography: Peter Chilver Archived 2012-07-16 at archive.today .