Guitarist Peter White to Release New Album “Smile”

GUITARIST/COMPOSER PETER WHITE SET ENERGIZES HIS ACOUSTIC SOUND ON SMILE, OUT OCTOBER 7, 2014

New Heads Up recording completes trilogy of original material

Special guests include Mindi Abair, Rick Braun, Euge Groove, Philippe Saisse, Nate Phillips, Charlotte White, Ramon Yslas and Stevo Theard

In the era ruled by the electric guitar, British-born, LA-based Peter White reigns supreme as one the world’s greatest masters of the nylon-string acoustic guitar. From the time he burst on the scene with rock legend Al Stewart in the seventies and singer Basia in the eighties to his session work with Richard Elliot, Jeff Golub, Lee Ritenour, Kirk Whalum and Boney James, White’s fabulous fingers continue to showcase the timeless tones and timbres that come from wood, skin and an expansive musical imagination.

Smile, set for release October 7, 2014 on Heads Up, a division of Concord Music Group, is White’s fourteenth recording as a leader, and his scintillating, contemporary jazz sound is buttressed by his equally-impressive command of several instruments and augmented by an impressive array of special guests, including vocalist Mindi Abair, trumpeter Rick Braun, soprano saxophonist Euge Groove, keyboardist Philippe Saisse, bassist Nate Phillips, violinist (and daughter) Charlotte White, Ramon Yslas on bongos and vocalist Stevo Theard. (International release dates may vary)

“This CD is my third recording for Concord of all original songs,” White says. “It started with Good Day (2009) and continued with Here We Go (2012). What I try to do on every single album is produce a story that has adventures; that has different styles that take you to different places.”

The ten tracks on Smile reflect the wide reach of White’s musical horizons, which emanate from contemporary jazz and branch out into R&B, classical and world music vistas. White’s nuanced and nimble fingers take the listener on an aural movie, set in a multitude of musical places and spaces.

The title track kicks off with some spirited vocals from Abair. “I’ve done hundreds of shows with Mindi – she’s a great friend,” White says. “So I asked her to sing the lead part. And she did a great job.” Abair also sings on “Hold Me Close,” which features Stevo Theard’s jazzy vocals. “On that song, Stevo and Mindi were singing in unison,” says White. “Then Stevo started scatting and improvising, and I thought – this is great, something new for me that I haven’t recorded before.”

(photo credit – Lori Stoll)

Smile’s other tracks, “Head Over Heels,” “In Rainbows,” “Floating In Air,” “Coming Home,” “Nightfall” and “Awakening (Jordan’s Song),” written to mark the twenty-first birthday of a friend’s daughter, all have equal and evocative doses of quiet storm, anthemic, atmospheric, Latin, Motown and uptempo musical tableaus, showcasing White’s poetic and piercing plectral prowess.

Two selections stand for their special subject matter. “‘Beautiful Love’ is my tribute to Barry White,” the guitarist fondly recalls. “I was sixteen or seventeen when I heard him back home in England. He did those long intros…So this was my attempt to do something like that – to have the intro just build. I wrote ‘Don Quixote’s Final Quest’ (co-written with keyboardist Freddie Ravel) a long time ago, but I almost didn’t put it on the album, because it was so different. It took us three days to mix the song – there are so many elements in it. It’s my tribute to ‘Classical Gas’ by Mason Williams, which influenced me to take up the Spanish guitar when I was a kid. I was heavily into rock and roll. But this guitar being played finger-style had so much power, I said, ‘Wow! I want to play guitar like this.’”

On his latest CD Smile, Peter White proves yet again that he doesn’t have to plug in to electrify audiences. “People have told me that when I play electric guitar, it sounds good,” he says. “But as soon as I play acoustic guitar, it sounds distinctive. And that’s because I put what I learned from playing the electric guitar and apply it to the acoustic guitar. It’s very easy for me to go that route. My musical voice speaks on the nylon-string guitar.”

Concord Music Group