Tommy Peltier

Born on 19 February 1935 in the United States, Peltier first drew regional notice along the west coast through his cornet work, yet his following stayed modest. An affinity for the free-jazz approach then associated with Ornette Coleman distanced numerous reviewers. Consequently, when he assembled the Jazz Corps in 1962 the ensemble received scant notice even while appearing regularly for five years at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Comprehensive surveys of west-coast jazz frequently bypass the group, a neglect perhaps traceable to the fact that Peltier’s music, though geographically rooted on the coast, belonged to no established west-coast idiom. For more than thirty years thereafter his name surfaced in jazz writing almost solely in connection with a 1966 session alongside Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Cadence Jazz Records’ later CD issue of the Lighthouse tapes from the 1960s brought to light the emotional depth and originality of his playing together with the inherent strengths of his compositions. The supporting musicians—Freddy Rodriguez on saxophone, Lynn Blessing on vibraphone, Bill Plummer on bass, and Maurice Mille on drums—match Peltier’s own standard of excellence, though they too remain largely absent from other discs and reference works. The band intended to relocate eastward, yet a hernia in 1968 forced Peltier to abandon the trumpet; the Jazz Corps consequently dissolved.

Peltier stayed musically active in subsequent decades, though his direction shifted dramatically. In the avant-garde pop of the Plastic Theatre Art Band one encounters echoes of quaintly folksy 1960s pop, classical textures, passing jazz inflections, gospel inflections, and vigorous latter-day R&B. The ensemble, whose members have included Louie Spears on bass, Timm Boatman on percussion, and Lynn Fanelli on vocals, has cultivated a loyal but regionally confined audience. Within this setting Peltier performs on synthesizer and guitar while delivering vocals over a body of original material that resists ready categorization.