Peter Janson is an award-winning contemporary fingerstyle acoustic guitarist, composer, and music educator. He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Healdsburg Guitar Festival, the Argenta Acoustic Music Series in Little Rock, the WUMB Music Festival in Boston, and many other festivals and venues throughout North America. He has had three albums in the Top Five of the NAR radio charts and his recordings have over one-million BMI verified broadcasts across all media. In performance, Peter prefers variety to concentrating on one specific style, and he presents contemporary solo guitar music from his recordings (Places In Time is his newest) and more from his jazz, classical, world-folk, and improvisation repertoire. His musical passion, artistry, and technical mastery have earned him critical acclaim: “Acoustic Guitarists Astonish!” (The Orion News, Chico CA), “absolutely one of the best, heartfelt, acoustic players today” (Grammy winning producer, Chuck Ebert), “a gifted acoustic fingerstyle player” (Dirty Linen Magazine), and “a rare 10+” (Spirit of Change Magazine).

Awards

• Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, BEAUTIFUL DAY
• Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic, BEAUTIFUL DAY
• Best CD of the Year, BEAUTIFUL DAY
• Album of the Year, JAMIE BONK - MY WORLD
• Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic, JAMIE BONK – MY WORLD
• Top 20 of the Year, FIRELIGHT MOONLIGHT ~ KTEP-FM (El Paso TX)
• Essential Audiosyncracy Collection Award winner, SOMETIMES FROM HERE ~ KTEP-FM (El Paso TX)
• Best New Age Album Nominee, SOMETIMES FROM HERE
• Top 20 of the Year, SOMETIMES FROM HERE ~ KTEP-FM (El Paso TX)
• Top 20 of the Year, SOMETIMES FROM HERE ~ KRSC-FM (Tulsa OK)
• Best Acoustic Instrumental Album Nominee, ACROSS THE BRIDGE
• Best of the Year, ACROSS THE BRIDGE ~ KGOU-FM (Norman OK)

Discography

• The Best of Friends, Steve Davison, Peter Janson guitarist and co-writer on two duo tracks, "The Water Is Wide" and "Santa Cruz," Finger Food Productions, 2018
• Places In Time, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2017
• Dust Bowl: American Stories, Grant Maloy Smith, Peter Janson guitarist on the Billboard charting recording of "Old Black Roller" (10 weeks in TOP 10, #2 on Heatseekers chart), Suburban Cowboy Records, 2017
• A Long Road: tunes from Celtic lands, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2013
• Dream Logic: The Echoes Living Room Concerts, vol. 16, various artists, Echodisc, 2010
• Oasis Acoustic, vol. 9, various artists, Oasis, 2010
• Compass Rose, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2009
• Winter Gifts, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2007
• New Age Music and New Sounds, various artists, Universal Quiet (Italy), 2007
• Beautiful Day, Peter Janson & Friends, EWM Records, 2006
• Serenity at UMB: a Relaxation CD, Peter Janson: music composer and arranger, UMass Boston, University Health Services, 2006
• Amningsro, compilation CD, various artists, THETA Music Sweden, 2006
• En forsmak fran THETA: Musik, Guidad Avslappning, Naturljud, compilation CD, various artists, THETA Music Sweden, 2006
• A Clear Stillness, Peter Janson, THETA Music Sweden, 2005
• A Window on Salt Spring, various artists, Creek House Realty, 2006
• My World, Jamie Bonk, Peter Janson composer and guitar performer for one song, "Waiting For Winter", Bonk Productions, 2004
• Firelight Moonlight, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2004
• Firelight Moonlight – Audiophile Recording, Peter Janson, Orange Music Pte Ltd. Singapore, 2004
• Sounds of New England, Vol. 1, compilation CD, various artists, Mansfield Music and Arts Association, 2003
• Sometimes From Here, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 2001
• NAV Sampler, various artists, New Age Voice, 2001
• Oasis Acoustic Instrumentals, vol. 3, various artists, Oasis, 2000
• Across the Bridge, Peter Janson, EWM Records, 1999

Non-performance Credits

• The Legend of Hagoromo, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Aaron Larget-Caplan solo guitarist, (Peter Janson: special thanks), Stone Records, 2015
• Gustav Holst: Composer as Arranger, Philharmonia Bulgarica, Jon Ceander Mitchell conductor, (Peter Janson: pre-editing), Centaur Records, 2007
• The Young Beethoven: Piano Concerto in E Flat, W.o.O.4, Romance cantabile, H. 13, Musik zu einem Ritterballet, W.o.O.1, Grigorios Zamparas piano, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jon Ceander Mitchell conductor, (Peter Janson: pre-editing), Centaur Records, 2004
• Beethoven: Piano Concerto Movement in D, Kinsky Anh. 7, Piano Concerto in D, Op. 61, Linnea Bardarson piano, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jon Ceander Mitchell conductor, (Peter Janson: pre-editing), Centaur Records, 2003
• Preteritions, Bach * Mozart * Holst, Linnea Bardarson pianoforte, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Jon Ceander Mitchell conductor, (Peter Janson: pre-editing), UMB Records, 2001
• UMass Boston: Live at the Millennium, various artists, (Peter Janson: editor), UMB Records, 2001

Articles

• “Teaching at a University.” Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Guitar Pro, July 2008, Vol. 19 no.1 issue #187, String Letter Publishing, san Rafael CA, pg. 8 (reference); pg. 72

More Bio

Born in Cambridge Massachusetts, USA, Peter Janson began playing guitar at age 7 and started composing as a young teen. His early influences were eclectic - from Django Reinhardt, Andres’ Segovia, Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, Les Paul, and Grant Green, to Steve Reich, Arvo Part, and Brian Eno – and remain so to this day. While attaining his Master of Guitar Performance degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston he focused on early music for stringed instruments, jazz, Indian classical and contemporary classical composition where he studied under David Leisner, Robert Sullivan, Thomas Oboe Lee, Thomas McKinley and others. It was at this time that becoming his own artist, through intense study of a variety of music from his interests as well as his heritages, ignited in his soul and his style of guitar music that "falls in the space between the personal and the universal" began to reveal itself: his passion for jazz, classical, world-folk, traditional, and improvisational music was formed. Since that time his performances have mostly been as a soloist playing six-string guitar and occasionally singing.

As an experienced independent performer having played across the US and Canada, from the legendary Freight & Salvage in Berkley CA, to the Montreal International Jazz Festival, to the iconic Club Passim in Boston MA, he’s had the privilege of performing with a variety of acoustic artists including American Fingerstyle: songs for 6&12-string guitar tours with Steve Davison and Tracy Moore, A World of Guitar: virtuoso guitar music from six continents tours with Aaron Larget-Caplan, American Guitar Masters tours with Larry Pattis and Steve Davison, Artistry of the Guitar tours with Ken Bonfield, String Songs concerts with luminaries Tim Farrell and Michael Manring, Friends concerts with Steve Hunt, Henrik Bridger and Bertram Lehmann, and has shared stages and co-bills with Ed Gerhard, Alex DeGrassi, Dakota Dave Hull, Chris Proctor, Jamie Bonk, singer-songwriters Brooks Williams, Shane Jackman, Greg Greenway, and Tim Harrison, Ugandan artist Kinobe and Celtic artists Aine Minogue, Aoife Clancy, Robbie O'Connell, and others.

Peter won an NAR Lifestyle Music Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his Beautiful Day CD, and Album of the Year and Best Instrumental Album Acoustic awards for his co-writing and performing on Jamie Bonk’s My World CD. He has composed and recorded music on 19 national and international CDs including seven CDs under his name, music for video games, and music that has been featured on a variety of regional and national documentaries including CBS News' "Living in the Shadows: Religion's response to human trafficking." All of his CDs have been featured on PBS, commercial and college radio, syndicated radio, Apple, Daily Motion, Groove Music, Rhapsody, Tidal, Sirius/XM, Music Choice TV, Pandora, Spotify, and in-flight programming resulting in over one million BMI verified broadcasts.

"One of the most enjoyable evenings I have had, attending a concert, in almost 40 years – and I have been to LOTS of concerts."

“Peter Janson is absolutely one of the best, heartfelt acoustic players of today!"

"You know that I hear A LOT of great guitar playing; I’m very lucky. But your concert was among the very best that I’ve ever heard!"