Pete Roth Trio feat. Bill Bruford.

A year and a half on from their dramatic sell-out gig here, we are delighted to welcome back Pete Roth Trio featuring drum legend Bill Bruford.

This newly road-tested power trio – Pete Roth (guitar) and Mike Pratt (bass) plus the freshly out-of-retirement Bruford – will offer some explosive, electric jazz reimaginings as the former King Crimson and Yes sticksman continues his remarkable comeback.

We’re very privileged that this supergroup, who made Wolverhampton their first outing from their south-east base last year, kick-starting 12 months of globetrotting, requested to return to our venue, having had such a great time on their last visit.

Revered prog-rocker Bill, who also had a short stint with Genesis, has long been fascinated by and involved in jazz. He followed his own jazz-fusion outfit Bruford (which included Allan Holdsworth) with the hugely successful Bill Bruford’s Earthworks that involved, at various times, collaborations with heroes of the genre such as Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock. He then retired in 2009, and seemingly settled for a life outside of gigging, before being bitten by the bug once again.

PRT strives for an intimate, relatively unscripted music that thrives in small places and dark corners. Jazz, funk, contemporary classical, Dvořák. Nothing is sacred. It’s not retro. It’s not comfortable. It’s just brilliantly unruly.

The deeply interactive music unfolds as a conversation between players and audience, where every performance becomes a unique exploration of sound, texture, and connection.

Roth’s original compositions, such as Dancing With Grace, the Trio’s collaborative works like Part Of The Charm and Looking Forward To Looking Back, or their reinterpretation of masterworks such as Dvořák’s Largo from Symphony No. 9, have offered just a few gateways into the creative world of PRT, a world that will likely reshape your perspective on what the guitar trio format can achieve.

A post on the band’s Facebook page in December 2025, signed by Pete, Mike and Bill, indicated a compulsion to push forwards.
It read: “In the past 12 months we have taken the stage nearly 60 times in 12 countries and performed to the most welcoming, warm crowds, who treated us with nothing but great vibes and made each performance feel like a mini party. We are deeply grateful for the open minds and love for music we encountered everywhere we went.

“Some of you who came to more than one gig may have noticed a shift about halfway through the year. We found ourselves pushing the music a little further and ended up playing an almost entirely original set, aside from our heavily reworked versions of How Insensitive and Summertime. That felt like an important moment for the band, and one that only made sense because audiences were willing to come along with us.”

Guitar: Pete Roth
Pete Roth, a versatile artist and accomplished session guitarist, born in Germany, where his musical journey began in the heart of a family deeply rooted in music. At the tender age of 11, he picked up the guitar, setting the stage for a lifelong dedication to his craft.
In his formative years, Roth found inspiration in the raw emotion of blues and the electrifying energy of rock. However, his musical horizons expanded when he ventured to England to study jazz. There, he delved into the rich complexities of the genre, drawing influence from luminaries such as Joe Pass, John Scofield, and Julian Lage.

Equipped with a diverse array of influences and a passion for innovation, Roth embarked on a solo career as a leader, culminating in the recording of two albums under the banner of MGP Records. Yet, his artistic journey continues to evolve, as he now stands on the cusp of a new endeavour.

With his sights set on exploring fresh musical territories, Roth is poised to embark on his first trio adventure. He is set to weave intricate melodies and rhythms, crafting imaginative jazz compositions that resonate with a new generation of music enthusiasts.

Bass: Mike Pratt
Mike is a double bass and bass guitar player, composer and producer based in London. Early in his career, Mike was drawn to funk, acid-jazz and fusion, discovering the music of Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, then Steps Ahead, John Scofield, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington.Mike performed fortnightly at Ronnie Scott’s for several years in the ensemble Shorter Than Miles. Mike plays and writes for the jazz fusion project KGQ with Kieron Garret featuring Dave O’Higgins and Duncan Eagles on saxophone, with two albums on 33 Jazz Records. He has performed with Acantha Lang and Liane Carroll, and at the Cape Town Jazz Festival, the Jazz Cafe and The Royal Albert Hall as well as many jazz venues in London, across the UK and abroad. Mike has taught bass and composition at Kingston University. He has recently written and performed with Laura Evans, Oliver Tompsett and Curiosity Killed the Cat, composed music for Ford and the FIA, and recorded basses for the documentary Stewart. He is musical director for the live theatre rockumentary Seven Decades.

The Pete Roth Trio offers Mike an all-too-rare opportunity to depart from the traditional role of bass to become an equal partner in the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic interplay of the trio. Mike combines his love for groove with a composer’s ear for innovative sounds and textures, and a creative approach to improvised music.

Drums: Bill Bruford
Internationally known as a rock musician, drummer Bill Bruford also has impeccable jazz credentials, having recorded, performed with or written music for Al Di Meola, the Buddy Rich Orchestra, David Torn, Allan Holdsworth, Tim Garland, Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Chris Botti among others.

Early success propelled Bill, by nature a restless innovator uncomfortable with the well-worn path, into a 40-year career as a bandleader and writer. His groups such as Bruford and Earthworks led the way with advanced harmony in rock in the 70s and 80s; samples, electronics, and odd metres in electric jazz in the 90s; and stylistic innovation in his 21st-century acoustic jazz.

Bill’s taste for the unpredictable in live performance has led him to collaborations with dozens of the world’s top rock and jazz musicians in an endless search for the innovative, the unusual, and the unlikely.

He was voted into Modern Drummer magazine’s Hall of Fame (1990), named by Rolling Stone magazine as #16 Greatest Drummer of All Time (2016) and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes (2017).

Straddling both jazz and rock, Bill’s work as a musician is well documented on CD and DVD at Summerfold and Winterfold Records, on his YouTube Channel, and at www.billbruford.com. He lives in the Surrey Hills, UK, with his wife, Carolyn.

In an interview with website thestrangebrew.co.uk, Bill explained his return: “Finding my way back after a long time in academia, was explosive, unexpected, and very sudden. I remember passing someone else’s kit one day, sitting down, and feeling exhilarated all over: urgently and violently keen to start all over again.”

Of playing with Pete, his drum tech in Earthworks more than 20 years ago, he told the website: “It’s a privilege to support and mentor a much younger player, and I get to play whatever I want on the tubs. We prefer smaller places where we can see the whites of your eyes, hear your breathing in the quiet bits and have a musical relationship with you, of the sort that is not possible in the big places. Believe me, I’ve tried ‘em both. Great to be back!”

For more details, visit peterothband.co.uk