For British acoustic guitarist Peter White, simply meeting Grover Washington, Jr. was exciting enough; having the saxophonist play on his new album was even more inspiring. "It was a thrill beyond words," says White while working in Los Angeles on his sophomore Columbia Jazz recording. "In the '80s, Grover was one of the originators of smooth, contemporary jazz. He paved the way for the kind of music I play today." White met Washington last December when they were doing live in-store performances at J & R Music World in New York City. Both were promoting their individual Columbia Jazz Christmas albums (White's Songs of the Season and Washington's Breath of Heaven.) The guitarist asked the saxophonist to sit in with him on one of his songs, which planted the seed for the studio session this spring. Other guests on the as-yet untitled CD include saxophonist Gerald Albright and keyboardist/ trumpeter Rick Braun. Peter is best known outside of jazz circles for his work with pop singers Al Stewart and Basia. The album is being produced by Paul Brown, who has been at the helm of discs by Richard Elliot, Boney James, Kirk Whalum and George Benson, and co-produced by Steve Dubin. Even though he's only tracked half the album so far (the project is scheduled to be completed in late June and released this fall), White describes the work-in-progress as "monster grooves punctuated by acoustic interludes." "This isn't a dance album with drums bashing from one end to the other. But there are some funky tunes with grooves. I'm currently writing other songs that are very light, melodic and acoustic to go in between the funky numbers." Asked how he approaches recording a CD, White says that he never starts out with a pre-set theme. "It's best to live in the moment if you're an artist. Instead of planning an album's direction ahead of time, I like to let it develop as we go along in the studio. I bring ideas into the sessions, but I have no solid notion of where things are eventually going to end up." As for the role his guitar plays in the recording process, White, who cites legendary jazz guitarist Joe Pass as an important influence, says, "I'm very passionate about letting the instrument be heard for what it is. The acoustic guitar can sound like an entire orchestra. It's important to not overpower the guitar, but to let it speak. That's when you can hear its beauty." Peter White Site

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