Born on the Island of Maui, guitarist JEFF PETERSON grew up on the slopes of Haleakala where he was introduced to the rich heritage of Hawaiian music by his father, a paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboy, on the Haleakala Ranch. The music that he heard from his father and other paniolos as well as the slack key on classic recordings by the Gabby Pahinui Band, Leonard Kwan, and Sonny Chillingworth made a deep and lasting impression on him that he continues to draw inspiration from today. As he began studying the guitar on his own, his interests broadened and he delved into a wide variety of musical genres that the guitar plays a part in. To explore these interests further, he went on to study jazz and classical guitar at the University of Southern California and at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has studied privately with a wide variety of artists including celebrated classical guitarists David Russell and Benjamin Verdery, slack key guitarist Ozzie Kotani, as well as a number of jazz guitarists including Joe Diorio, Larry Koonse, and Frank Vignola. He has participated in the island-wide Annual Slack Key Guitar Festivals with many other slack key artists including Raymond Kane, Keola Beamer, Ledward Kaapana, and Cyril Pahinui.

As a performer, Jeff has had the honor to work with a wide range of artists and groups including Eric Clapton, slack key guitarist Ledward Kaapana, James Galway, Michael Feinstein, the Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Keali'i Richeil, jazz bassist Rufus Reid, shakuhachi master Riley Lee, soprano Dana Hanchard, and with many other artists in the fields of Hawaiian, classical, and jazz music. He has three recordings on Hula Records International with Riley Lee: "Maui Morning", "Bamboo Slack Key", and "Haiku". He also released three solo guitar recording featuring his slack key artistry, "Kahealani" "Slack Key Jazz", and "The Artistry of Jeff Peterson". Wayne Harada from the Honolulu Advertiser reacted to hearing the CDs by writing: "Add the Peterson name to the top 10 list of slack key giants", "His manner is impeccable, his style exquisite: the CD is perfection", "Brilliant . . . Peterson raises the bar a few notches in both slack key and jazz with this bright and exceptional release"

He has traveled to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and across the U.S. performing at a variety of venues from Symphony Space in New York City to the National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia. He was featured at the First World Guitar Congress in Maryland where he performed Hawaiian slack key guitar as well as classical music in master classes by classical guitarists David Russell and Dusan Bogdanovic. He has performed for former president Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton on the island of Kauai on two separate occasions. He performs regularly at Michel's Restaurant in the Colony Surf Hotel in Waikiki in addition to a variety of other venues throughout Hawaii and abroad in both solo and group settings. In addition to performing, he taught the guitar at the University of Hawaii for several years running the guitar program.

Jeff achieved a milestone in Hawaiian music at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards on February 13th, 2005, when a recording on Palm Records featuring Jeff and other island artists, "Slack Key Guitar Volume 2", won the first ever Grammy Award for best Hawaiian recording.

His current CD "Pure Slack Key" (Peterson Productions), has received rave reviews. John Berger from the Honolulu Star Bulletin wrote: "Slack key is more about instrumental technique than composition, and Peterson uses his pieces to bridge his Hawaiian slack-key roots and his formal academic training as a classical acoustic guitarist."

Jeff is also featured on our newest and just released compilation CD: Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol 2  (2009 Daniel Ho Creations) which just won the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Hawaiian Music Album on January 31, 2010.

For more information on Jeff, visit www.jeffpetersonguitar.com

See and hear Jeff perform in The Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert Series at the Napili Kai Beach Resort, Maui on Wednesday, August 4, 2010.

(Jeff previously appeared in this series at the Napili Kai Beach Resort on June 23, May 5 and February 10, 2010 and last year July 15, June 24, April 1, 2009 and the previous year on November 26, August 6, March 12, 2008 and before that on November 21, 2007 and at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, on May 2, 2007 and December 6, 2006.)