Pete Thomas
Born in Reading and a graduate of the Newcastle College of Performing Arts the first instrument that Pete learned to play was the guitar. However in his early teens he discovered the bass guitar and subsequently the double bass and these have become his favoured instruments for live performance and recording.
At the Derby Folk Festival - image by permission © Mark Steele
His professional career started when he was still at school and has enjoyed over decade of professional performance with many bands covering many genres: English and Irish folk music, jazz, particularly gypsy jazz, bluegrass, R&B and rock.
He is an old hand at performing at festivals whether R&B, gypsy jazz, folk or bluegrass. However 2024 has not been a great year for festivals with several cancelled and others affected by bad weather. Nevertheless, Pete performed with Philip Murray Warson’s R&B band in Belgium and the Netherlands at the Misty Fields Festival and with the London Django Collective at the Soho Jazz Festival, both in September; the Vanguards will be playing at the Egerton Music Festival in October.
PM Warson’s R&B band performed at the Misty Fields Festival in September as already mentioned but most importantly the band’s latest album was released in September. Entitled A Little More Time. Pete plays on all tracks as he does on Denver Cuss’s solo album Leaving Me released at about the same time. Denver is a regular singer in Philip Warson’s band but this is her first foray as a singer in her own right. Both albums are available for purchase by vinyl or streaming and Denver's on CD too.
The albums are enjoying plenty of air time, particularly on the Continent but our own Craig Charles on his Funk and Soul show opened his programme with “Win or Lose” from “A Little More Time” at the end of September.
Incidentally the instrumental Retrace the Steps which is featured on the B-side of Philip’s 7” single Right Here Last Night largely features Pete’s bass playing penned by himself.
Once again Pete joined the Blue Jays for the band's guest performances on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship last summer as it sailed between Juneau in Alaska to Vancouver in British Columbia. The cruise lasted the inside of a week and they performed four times.to sell out audiences in the vast auditorium in this great ship. They largely played ‘50’s and ‘60’s covers thoroughly enjoyed by audience and band alike. He will be away again in December with the Blue Jays on another cruise, this time, from Southampton to Madeira, on the Queen Victoria.
Gypsy jazz is as buoyant as ever with much demand for private functions such as graduation ceremonies, functions at banks, fashion houses and so on. The Harry Diplock Trio's album which was launched at the end of last year has proven to be very popular even in France (the home of Gypsy Jazz) where it has had many plays on French radio. It’s a great record and is available to buy or stream on Bandcamp and Spotify. The trio will be playing at the Green Note (a favourite venue) in October and then Harry and Pete travel to Paris at the end of October to meet likeminded friends and perform a couple of gigs in the city.
Bluegrass, albeit a niche genre, is hugely popular in certain quarters. (Check out the Egerton Music Festival in Kent). Also Pete joins Chris Lord (of The Vanguards) to host an open jam session in Pimlico from time to time and these are proving immensely popular. The Vanguards themselves continue to be well known and liked in bluegrass circles.
See the Discography page on this website for details and links for all the music mentioned above.
Click for pics/clips of Jazz, Folk and Blues/Rock
See also Pete Thomas's Instagram page and YouTube account.