Tommy Peltier

b. 19 February 1935, USA. Playing cornet, Peltier attracted local attention on the west coast but his audience remained small and his leaning towards the often misunderstood (and at the time frequently maligned) free jazz of Ornette Coleman alienated many critics. It was perhaps through this that when Peltier formed his Jazz Corps in 1962 it was often ignored despite playing regular engagements at The Lighthouse on Hermosa Beach over a period of five years. Indeed, the group is often omitted from otherwise comprehensive accounts of west coast jazz, although this might be expla...