Bill Bruford comes out of retirement to join Pete Roth Trio

(Image credit: Kevin Nixon)

Former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford has come out of retirement to join UK jazz band Pete Roth Trio.

The band use the phrase "Jazz without borders" on their website, claiming they "create jazz for a new generation of music enthusiasts that look beyond the ordinary jazz conventions."

The band go on to state, "Some use qualifiers like ‘near-jazz’, ‘neo-jazz’, or ‘stadium-jazz’ to break out of the ‘old-man-jazz’ straightjacket. Phrases like that act as trigger-warnings that what the Trio plays ain’t always going to fit, or be nice. The group’s roots are firmly planted in popular music, but it seeks to expand the notion of what it is acceptable or possible to do, or represent, within that genre."

Bruford announced that that he was retiring from performing and recording on January 1, 2009. His final public gig was with his Earthworks band on July 31, 2008. During his retirement Bruford studied for and received a PhD in Music from the University Of Surrey, and write his acclaimed autobiography Bill Bruford: The Autobiography. Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks and More.

Save for a short stint with Ann Bailey's Soul House, a covers band from Surrey, Bruford's only appearance behind the kit since he announced his retirement, was at the John Wetton Tribute Concert at Trading Boundaries in 2023, when he performed Let's Stick Together, as covered by Bryan Ferry, alongside Phil Manzanera, Guy Pratt and Chris Difford from Squeeze.

You can see the Pete Roth Trio live dates and ticket details below.

Pete Roth Trio live dates

Sep 18: Guildford Growlers & Cans
Oct 11: Kingston ex Cellar And Wine
Oct 15: Loxwood North Hall
Nov 1: London Hampstead Jazz Club
Nov 17: Pangbourne Working Men's CLub
Nov 23: Windsor Old Court Artspace
Nov 27: London 606 Club
Dec 11: Oxford The Spin Jazz Club

Get tickets.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.