Peter White

Peter White (born 20 September 1954; Luton, England) is an English musician and composer who plays guitar, piano, accordion and harmonica, best known for his twenty-year collaboration with singer-songwriter Al Stewart and for a prolific solo career that established him as one of the most successful guitarists in the American smooth jazz genre.

Early Life

White grew up in Luton, England, where as a child he learned clarinet, trombone, violin and piano before turning his attention to the guitar, picking up his first chords on an acoustic instrument and later buying his first electric guitar in his early teens.

Immersed in the guitar heroes of the era, he studied the playing of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, though his musical direction shifted back towards acoustic playing after his electric guitar was accidentally destroyed in a fire started by his brother. That brother, Danny White, would go on to become a founding member of the pop group Matt Bianco and would later play a pivotal role in shaping Peter's professional career.

Career

White joined Al Stewart's band in 1975, at the age of twenty, after a place opened up in the lineup, and quickly became known for a guitar style that provided a jazz-inflected counterpoint to Stewart's folk-rock songwriting. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1978, and during his twenty-year tenure with Stewart, he co-wrote a number of the singer's songs, including the 1978 top-ten hit "Time Passages" and "Midnight Rocks", which reached number 24 on the US chart in 1980.

That same year he formed Shot in the Dark, a band that backed Stewart and released a self-titled album in 1981. In 1984, Danny White invited him to contribute uncredited acoustic guitar to "Half a Minute" on Matt Bianco's debut album, Whose Side Are You On?, marking the brothers' first musical collaboration; three years later White began a long working relationship with Matt Bianco's former singer, Basia Trzetrzelewska, playing guitar on her album Time and Tide, co-produced by Danny, and going on to appear on all of her subsequent studio albums and to join her for world tours in 1990 and 1994.

In 1989, White co-produced singer Skipper Wise's album The Clock and the Moon, and Wise returned the favour by co-producing White's first two solo albums, Réveillez-Vous (1990) and Excusez-Moi (1991). White made his debut as a solo headline performer at the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival in 1991, sharing the bill with artists including Grover Washington Jr., Dave Koz, Bobby Caldwell and Acoustic Alchemy, and continued to work alongside Stewart and Basia even as his own solo career grew, co-producing Stewart's Famous Last Words album in 1993.

In 1996 Basia returned the favour of their earlier collaborations by singing on the title single "Just Another Day" from White's album Caravan of Dreams, which reached number four on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. White went on to release a long run of solo albums that placed consistently in the upper reaches of the Billboard Jazz and Contemporary Jazz Albums charts, including Perfect Moment (1998), Glow (2001), Confidential (2004), Good Day (2009), Here We Go (2013), Smile (2014), Groovin' (2016) and, most recently, Light of Day (2025). His singles have repeatedly topped the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart, among them "Midnight in Manhattan" featuring Grover Washington Jr. (1998), "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" featuring Sam Riney (2006), "Mister Magic" featuring Bob James (2007), "Bright" (2009), "Here We Go" featuring David Sanborn (2012), "Head Over Heels" featuring Rick Braun (2014), "Do I Do" (2017) and, more recently, "Sunshine Yellow" (2024), a collaboration with vocalist Carol Albert.

As a solo artist, White has recorded and performed extensively with fellow instrumentalists including Boney James, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Grover Washington Jr., Gerald Albright, Dave Koz and Brian Culbertson.

Personal Life

White's career has remained closely bound up with family, from his brother Danny's role in bringing him into both the Matt Bianco and Basia collaborations to the enduring creative partnership the two brothers have shared across several decades of recording and production work.

White was named Best Smooth Jazz Musician at the 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards and was voted Best Guitarist at the National Smooth Jazz Awards for four consecutive years, from 2000 to 2003. In 2000, he also won three Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards, for CD of the Year (Perfect Moment), Song of the Year ("Midnight in Manhattan", with Grover Washington Jr.) and Best Guitarist. Across five decades as a sideman, songwriter and solo artist, White is widely credited with helping to define the melodic, guitar-led sound of American smooth jazz radio.

Current Activities

White continues to tour extensively across North America, with dates scheduled through the latter half of 2026, often performing alongside fellow smooth jazz artists such as Rick Braun and Richard Elliot at festivals, resorts and jazz cruises. Following the 2025 release of his album Light of Day, he featured on saxophonist Steve Oliver's 2026 single "Dancing in the Sand".