Peter Lemer
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Peter Lemer (born June 14, 1942) is an English jazz musician. He worked with the Pete Lemer Quintet, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Harry Beckett, Gilgamesh, Baker-Gurvitz Army, Seventh Wave, Harry Beckett's Joy Unlimited, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Mike Oldfield Group, In Cahoots, Miller/Baker/Lemer, and the Peter Lemer-Billy Thompson Quartet and Duo. He currently works with In Cahoots, Peter Lemer Trio, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, and the Peter Lemer-Billy Thompson Quartet and Duo.
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[edit] Early life and education
Peter Lemer was born in London in 1942. After taking lessons with Paul Bley, he formed his own jazz quartet in 1963, making his recording debut as a leader (Local Colour) three years later. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Music for three years.
[edit] Career
In 1965 , he formed a trio with John Stephens and Jeff Clyne, which played at the Little Theatre Club. In 1966, he formed the Peter Lemer Quintet, with Jon Hiseman on drums, George Khan on tenor sax and Tone Reeves on bass. This band successfully played a season at Ronnie Scott's and helped to pave the way for the British fee jazz movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with the Mike Taylor trio. It cut one LP, Local Colour which was engineered by Eddie Kramer.
In 1969, Lemer worked with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, which was an experimental jazz group.
In 1974, Lemer joined Gilgamesh and played several gigs and some BBC sessions. He subsequently became an in-demand session player.
In 1979, Lemer joined Mike Oldfield's fifty piece touring band as one of two keyboard players. This led to him guesting on Moerlen's album Time is the Key.
Lemer has done much recent work with the band In Cahoots. With them, he played in the album Cutting Both Ways (1987) and toured Europe. He joined the band Paraphernalia in 1987 and played in the albums A Cry from the Heart (1987), Everlasting Flame (1993) and Shifting Sands.
Lemer again worked with In Cahoots. He played on the album Digging In (1991) and rejoined the band on a permanent basis in 1995. After two In Cahoots tours, Lemer devoted 1999 to touring with Paraphernalia in support of the album they had recently released.
[edit] Present
Lemer's most recent albums include Players of Games recorded with Billy Thompson, Looking for Soup, All That with In Cahoots, and Never Say Goodbye recorded with Paraphernalia.
He is now teaching jazz and classical piano privately.