PETER WHITE

Over the years, Peter White has maintained a reputation as one of the most versatile and prolific acoustic guitarists on the contemporary jazz landscape. Armed with an unparalleled combination of lyricism and energy, he combines elements of jazz, pop and classical guitar to create a sound that is singular and at the same time accessible to a broad audience.

At just 20 years old, he was invited to join Al Stewart’s band for a tour of England, Scotland, and the U.S. in 1975. In addition to opening for artists like Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel and Queen, White worked with Stewart in the studio in the making of Year of the Cat, which became a huge hit for Stewart in 1976. The tour and the album marked the beginning of a twenty-year association with Stewart. In that time, the two musicians co-wrote numerous songs, including Stewart’s 1978 hit, “Time Passages.”

After fifteen years as a backup musician and a session player, White launched his solo recording career with the 1990 release of Reveillez-Vous (French for Wake Up, a title chosen by White in honor of his French mother). The album included several unused songs that White had written for Stewart, and it became a favorite among contemporary jazz radio stations.

He followed with three records on the Sindrome label – Excusez-Moi (1991), Promenade (1993) and Reflections (1994) – before signing with Columbia for the 1996 release of Caravan of Dreams. He maintained an ambitious release schedule through the ‘90s and beyond, but also found time to appear on recordings by many of his friends, including Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Jeff Golub, Lee Ritenour, Kirk Whalum, Boney James and many others.

On the road, he has participated in numerous “Guitars and Saxes” tours with the aforementioned players, and has established an annual “Peter White Christmas Tour” which made at stop at Rockwell Hall in 2011.

White went on to release a trilogy of albums consisting entirely of his own material – Good Day (2009), Here We Go (2012) and Smile (2014). The albums feature several high-profile guest musicians, including David Sanborn (saxophone), Rick Braun (horns), Kirk Whalum (saxophone), Philippe Saisse (piano), Mindi Abair (vocals), and Euge Groove (saxophone).

In a career that spans nearly four decades, over a dozen solo recordings and countless performances, White insists that it’s the faces in the crowd and the fans that keep the experience fresh. “I’ll play a live show, and someone will come to me afterward and say, ‘Oh, I loved this CD,’ or ‘This song helped me through a bad time,’” he explains. “Or I get emails from people saying, ‘Oh, I love the way you covered one of my favorite songs on your record back in 1994.’ The idea that someone can write me an email and tell me about something I did on a record that was released fifteen years ago – you can’t buy that. That’s priceless. That’s what keeps me going – the idea that people out there really care about what I do, the idea that I’ve made a difference for someone.”

MARC ANTOINE

French guitarist Marc Antoine is a contemporary jazz performer who combines his adept, classically trained chops with a hybrid of multi-cultural influences from flamenco and Afrobeat to hip-hop and R&B. Born in Paris in 1963, he started playing guitar at age 13. After going to the conservatory to study classical music and play in local clubs, he started showing an interest in a variety of musical genres. Marc moved first to London (UK) where he joined Basia’s band and worked with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Soul to Soul, Pato Banton, and General Public. He was also part of the London Acid Jazz scene. His travels also led him to Tokyo (Japan) where he became an acclaimed session player.

As a true citizen of the world, Marc kept on moving, this time to Los Angeles (USA) and he stayed there for 12 years playing for music royalty such as Sting, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Cher, Selena, Queen Latifah, George Benson, and many others.

He composed and performed for several major movie soundtracks: Get Shorty, The Fun, Patch Adams, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Demolition Man.

Marc’s career boasts many #1 hits on the R&R contemporary jazz charts, as well as topping the Billboard charts. In 1995, R&R elected him best new artist of the year, which was followed by his Gavin Award in1998, a Latin Grammy for best instrumental song in 2005 and the International Artist of the Year at the Chicago Jazz Awards in 2010. He has also received numerous nominations for Jazz awards in the US and Canada.

Regularly touring with contemporary jazz artists like Dave Koz, Chris Botti, Jeff Lorber, Jeffrey Osborn, Phillipe Saisse, Brian Simpson and others, he also performs or records with Jazz legends such as Peter Erskine, Jimmy Haslip, Mike Mainieri, Dave Valentin, Christian McBride and Mark Egan to name a few. Marc was honored when George Benson mentioned him as one of his favorite acoustic guitarist.

In 2010 he created his own label and publishing company called Frazzy Frog Music and released his first independent record My Classical Way on it. It was voted number two Record of the Year on the Jazz Times Magazine top 50.