Peter White is a prolific and versatile acoustic guitar player who has been a jazz legend for many years. White is a unique combination of energy and lyricism, and his sound is both distinctive and accessible to a wide audience. White was born in Luton in north London in 1954. His family soon moved to Letchworth. He learned to play the clarinet and trombone as a child. He gravitated to the guitar, as did many other children growing up in the era of the Beatles and Rolling Stones. He began learning chords with an acoustic instrument, and then he bought his first electric guitar as a teenager. He also studied recordings by the great guitarists of the time, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix. After an unfortunate accident, his electric guitar was destroyed. His musical ambitions reverted back to an acoustic path. White’s younger brother Danny, an aspiring pianist, accidentally set the fire that destroyed the axe. White says that Danny did not admit to starting the fire for at most twenty-five years. “I was a bit obsessed with electric guitars at that time in my life. That episode forced me back to the acoustic. “In retrospect, it’s a good decision.” White’s interest in acoustic music, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, shifted after the accident. He was either unplugged or plugged. His first gig professionally was at a resort in England when he turned 19 years old. He was invited to join Al Stewart’s band in 1975 as a keyboardist on a tour through England, Scotland and the U.S. White was a key player in the production of Year of the Cat. Stewart’s 1976 hit, Year of the Cat, saw White open for Queen, Billy Joel, and Linda Ronstadt. Stewart and White began a twenty year association. Stewart and White co-wrote many songs together during that tour, including Stewart’s 1978 hit “Time Passages.” Stewart and White eventually moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. They formed Shot in the Dark and Lobster Music, a music publishing house. Danny White, who had been involved in the incident with the burning guitar a few years before, formed a band called Matt Bianco that included Basia Trzetrzelewska, a talented Polish singer. Basia and Danny White split off to start the singer’s solo career. The 1987 debut album Time and Tide featured Peter White as a guitarist. White’s solo recording career began with Reveillez-Vous, a 1990 album. This title was chosen in tribute to his French mother. It featured several songs White had not used, which was a popular choice among jazz radio stations today. Three records were released on the Sindrome label: Excusez-Moi (1991), Promenade (933) and Reflections (1994), before he signed with Columbia for Caravan of Dreams (1996). Through the ’90s, he maintained an ambitious schedule of releases, but still found time to appear in recordings by many of his close friends, such as Rick Braun, Dave Koz and Rick Braun. He has been on numerous “Guitars and Saxes” tours with the mentioned players and established an annual “Peter White Christmas Tour.” This was a result of the popularity of his two holiday albums Songs of the Season (1997) and A Peter White Christmas (2008). White’s 2009 release of Good Day on Peak Records (a division of Concord Music Group) was his first collection of original songs for many years. He says, “I just started going over my backlog of material – songs that I hadn’t finished, some going back as far as ten or 15 years ago – and discovered that there were a lot of gems I really wanted the world to see.” “I wanted them to be recorded in my own time and my own way, without any outside interference or influence.” White’s thirteenth solo album, Here We Go, will be released on March 13, 2012 on Heads Up International (a division of Concord Music Group). White, Larry Carlton and Bob James co-produced the 11-song set. It features a number of high-profile guests, including saxophonists David Sanborn, Kirk Whalum, Patty Austin, and pianist Philippe Saisse. The album also includes original material from both the distant and recent past. White says, “I wanted variety.” White says, “I wanted songs to move me in the hope that they will also move the listener.” “I’m on a journey and I want anyone who’s willing will follow me.” White insists that the people in the crowd and fans are what keep the experience fresh. He explains, “I’ll perform a live show and someone will come up to me afterwards and say, ‘Oh, this CD is my favorite,’ or ‘This song helped me get through a difficult time.’ Or I get emails saying things like, “Oh, I love how you covered one my favorite songs back in 1994.” This is a rare opportunity to receive an email from someone telling me something they did on a record released fifteen years ago. That’s priceless. It’s that feeling that keeps me going. The idea that people care about my work, the idea of making a difference for someone is what keeps me going.” www.peterwhite.com
