Pete Brown, lyricist, poet, and musical producer was brought up in a “claustrophobic” jewish world where they thought everyone was the enemy. But he didn’t share their perspective, he felt like he belonged in the world and people were just that. People. He was desperate to get out of this cocoon, he told t5m.
He went along with it for a while, and attended faith school in London. He then heard jazz music for the first time which became his obsession and he wondered where it stemmed from. His father was musical but he didn’t put it into practice whereas Pete had a good ear for music. The music spoke to him about individuality, he had never come across anything like that before, and it helped destroy the stereotype that came from his “paranoid” background.
In his eyes, black people were Gods. They could produce music that no-one else could. It was incredible music compiled to a fantastic standard, not only by improvising but by also playing the fixed things. They had an unbelievable talent, he told t5m.
