Pete Jacobsen

Pete Jacobsen (16 May 1950 – 29 April 2002), also known as Peter Jacobsen, was an English jazz pianist.

Early life and education He was born Peter Paul George Jacobsen in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1969, he moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music. 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'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 died, he and Biscoe were planning on forming a band featuring the songs of Lee Konitz.

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 had not 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 (Jimmy Knepper) 1982 - The Pursuit of Accidents (Level 42) 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 2024 - Homage To Caledonia (Bobby Wellins Sextet) (recorded live in the Autumn of 1979 - released September 13, 2024), Jazz In Britain