Peter talks to Cheryl Hughey about the Confidential CD on jazzreview.com.


Imagine a smoky bar and a glance from across a crowded room that softly whispers into the night. The music gently caresses in the background, as you sway to the beat. Time drifts into nothingness. Everything is dissolved into something beyond. It’s just you and the groove.


Music can take you places. Far away lands that only the imagination can behold. Some artists write by rote, others come straight from the heart. You know it when you hear the music and you feel it down to your bones. The vibe is organic, fresh and alive. Such is the voice of guitarist Peter White in Confidential.


The album took approximately two years to come together. White shared, “I finished the album in 2003, I started in 2002 and it was released in 2004.” White pulls in a host of notables for the project. Most of the artists contributed their portions separately from White. The only artist to actually share the recording studio with White was Chris Botti for Stormfront. The softened trumpet against White’s invitingly romantic guitar sets a sensual tone.


Producer Paul Brown originally brought up the idea of recording the Brenda Russell tune, She’s in Love. Although White had played it many times with Russell, he realized the original cut never featured a guitar. White wanted to do his own version of the song “with only guitar” and thought a “male voice would be interesting.” Christopher Cross was invited to do the vocals with simply stunning results. “Christopher’s voice sounds fantastic. It was perfect for the song . . . I’m glad that worked out,” said White.


The romantic side of Brian Culbertson on piano is featured in Confidential. Culbertson and White originally began writing this song about three years ago for the “Glow” CD. However, it wasn’t finished in time and was subsequently laid to rest. Interestingly enough, Culbertson recorded his section in Chicago, while on tour with Dave Koz. According to White, Culbertson “wanted to record with his favorite piano on that song.” (Culbertson hails from the Chicago area.) White continued, “It was a year later that I actually got around to finishing the guitar and putting it all together.”


When the idea of the new album came up, White decided to resurrect Confidential and toyed around with the first verse. White felt this intro “was far too busy” and thought it sounded like he was trying to be “too clever.” If you take a peek at the upcoming CD sleeve you will see a note by White that reads something like this: “I resisted the urge to be clever, because it rarely works for musicians.”


Although "at one point it [the song] was completely dead," Confidential would become the title cut. "The song is kind of whimsical," said White with a grin. The funky cover art for the CD is a story all to itself. After he was introduced to the art of Mark Zingarelli from www.houseofzing.com, White fell in love with the pulp fiction styled art and took special notice of one the female characters. This curvy temptress straight from the mind of Zingarelli would eventually become the Confidential cover girl. White went on to conceive the actual cover illustration with the idea of an unspoken exchange and an envelope sealed with a kiss. As the finishing touch, White set down and wrote a story based on the finished artwork as a teaser. White's brief tale is a dreamy little diversion from the ordinary sleeve notes. "The story that I wrote uses all the titles of the song," said White. Much like White's music, readers are invited to escape and enjoy the moment.


Finding joy in the music is a number one priority for this musician. He sees himself as a regular guy who is privileged enough to do what he loves. The biggest compliment anyone can give him is to say, “Wow, you look like you’re having a lot of fun.” With regard to his life as a musician, White simply shared, “You find very ordinary people leading very ordinary lives . . . doing ordinary things in very ordinary ways.”


Confidential is a seductively pleasing collection of songs that sets both the toes to tapping and the heart to singing. I don’t know about you, but I’d call that extraordinary.


Cheryl Hughey is a member of the Jazz Journalists Association. She is a freelance writer and regular contributor to newsprint, trades and Internet jazz publications. Contact: Cheryl Hughey