Jeff Pearce (American musician)
Encyclopedia
Jeff Pearce is an Indiana
-based ambient
/new age
musician. He has been called "one of the top two electronic guitarists of all time" by Allmusic, while reviewer John Diliberto
wrote in Billboard
magazine that Pearce is "one of the best" guitarists to follow the solo electric guitarist concept. Pearce started playing guitar at age 13 and discovered the music of Brian Eno and Harold Budd while in college.
's Echoes
radio program. For his eighth and ninth CD's, Lingering Light and Rainshadow Sky, Pearce featured compositions written for the Chapman Stick
. Pearce plays the Alto Chapman Stick, and in 2009, was asked to write an article for Stick Enterprises (manufacturer of the Chapman Stick) about his experience with the Alto Stick.
reporting service. In 2000, his CD To the Shores of Heaven was voted "favorite CD of the year" by the listeners of the Echoes radio program, while his 2005 CD Lingering Light was voted the Echoes listeners' #10 favorite CD of the year.
Pearce's music can also be heard on the nationally syndicated weekly radio program Music from the Hearts of Space.
's Grammy-nominated recording "Meditations" and has music on two of the Echoes "Living Room Concert" CDs. He contributed a Chapman Stick version of "Sudden Light" to the Star's End
30th anniversary CD, appearing alongside Robert Rich
, Jonn Serrie
, and Steve Roach. He has also contributed his guitar and Stick playing to recordings by Paul Avgerinos
, Jeff Oster
, Robert Linton, and Vidna Obmana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
-based ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
/new age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
musician. He has been called "one of the top two electronic guitarists of all time" by Allmusic, while reviewer John Diliberto
John Diliberto
John Diliberto is an award-winning radio producer, music writer, and host of Echoes, a radio program on Public Radio International featuring ambient, downtempo music "soundscapes"....
wrote in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine that Pearce is "one of the best" guitarists to follow the solo electric guitarist concept. Pearce started playing guitar at age 13 and discovered the music of Brian Eno and Harold Budd while in college.
Recordings
Pearce's first CD, Tenderness and Fatality, was released in 1993 and the following six CDs saw Pearce focusing on creating music using only electric guitar. His CDs To the Shores of Heaven and Bleed were picked as "CD of the month" by the producers of NPRNPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Echoes
Echoes (radio program)
Echoes is a daily two-hour music radio program hosted by John Diliberto featuring a soundscape of ambient, space, electronica, and New Age music. The program features in-depth artist interviews and intimate "living room" performances. Interview subjects have included Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel,...
radio program. For his eighth and ninth CD's, Lingering Light and Rainshadow Sky, Pearce featured compositions written for the Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
. Pearce plays the Alto Chapman Stick, and in 2009, was asked to write an article for Stick Enterprises (manufacturer of the Chapman Stick) about his experience with the Alto Stick.
Awards and airplay
Pearce's 2008 CD, Rainshadow Sky was voted "album of the year" by the DJs and radio programmers who submit their playlists to the Zone Music ReporterZone Music Reporter
Zone Music Reporter is a website tracking New Age, world, and instrumental music. The site features weekly playlist, monthly airplay charts, and album reviews...
reporting service. In 2000, his CD To the Shores of Heaven was voted "favorite CD of the year" by the listeners of the Echoes radio program, while his 2005 CD Lingering Light was voted the Echoes listeners' #10 favorite CD of the year.
Pearce's music can also be heard on the nationally syndicated weekly radio program Music from the Hearts of Space.
Contributions and compilations
Pearce played on two cuts on William AckermanWilliam Ackerman
William Ackerman is a Grammy winning guitarist and composer of acoustic-based instrumental music. He founded and ran for many years the influential New Age record label Windham Hill Records.- Career :...
's Grammy-nominated recording "Meditations" and has music on two of the Echoes "Living Room Concert" CDs. He contributed a Chapman Stick version of "Sudden Light" to the Star's End
Star's End
Star's End is a weekly, five-hour-long New Age music radio show broadcast by 88.5 WXPN, the University of Pennsylvania's radio station, in Philadelphia. It is the second longest-running show of its type in the world, after Hearts of Space.-History:...
30th anniversary CD, appearing alongside Robert Rich
Robert Rich (musician)
Robert Rich is an ambient musician and composer based in California, United States. With a discography spanning over 30 years, he is widely regarded as a figure whose sound has greatly influenced today's ambient, New Age, and even IDM music.-Early life:At an early age he thought he disliked music...
, Jonn Serrie
Jonn Serrie
Jonn Serrie is a composer of space music, a genre of ambient electronic music, and New Age music. He has recorded at least eighteen albums and worked on various projects for Lucasfilm, IMAX Corporation, NASA, the United States Navy, Hayden Planetarium, Expo Seville, and CNN.-Musical career:Serrie...
, and Steve Roach. He has also contributed his guitar and Stick playing to recordings by Paul Avgerinos
Paul Avgerinos
Paul Avgerinos is an American composer, performer and producer of New Age music whose recordings are also classified in the genres of ambient, space, world, World Fusion, electronic and drone. Avgerinos also owns Studio Unicorn in Redding, CT, which produces a wide variety of music for Film, TV,...
, Jeff Oster
Jeff Oster
Jeff Oster is an American brass instrument player who has recorded flugelhorn or trumpet with artists such as William Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records...
, Robert Linton, and Vidna Obmana
Vidna Obmana
Vidna Obmana is a pseudonym used by Belgian composer and ambient musician Dirk Serries. The name Vidna Obmana, a phrase in Serbian, literally translates to "optical illusion" and was chosen by Serries because he felt it accurately described the music...
Discography
- 1993: Tenderness and Fatality
- 1995: The Hidden Rift
- 1997: Vestiges
- 1998: Daylight Slowly
- 2000: To the Shores of Heaven
- 2001: The Light Beyond
- 2002: Bleed
- 2005: Lingering Light
- 2008: Rainshadow Sky
External links
- Jeff Pearce discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...