Frank Peeters

Biography written by Ronny Michielsen Dutch guitarist Frank Peeters, a graduate from the Hilversum Music College in The Netherlands, has proved to be as versatile a musician one wishes to have in his band, incorporating a wide range of styles and influences in his playing. Although a fabulous technician capable of playing basically in every setting with authority, Frank prefers spiritual interplay in a small group setting, as he has done lately in a duo with percussionist/vocalist Eddie Conard. Frank is at his best when the music gets the chance to breathe and interact, letting the music speak for itself instead of showing off his mighty chops. He has worked in several musical settings over a career spanning some 15 odd years. He delivered the goods a couple of years back during an American musical called ‘Broadway Souljam’ and worked with several pop bands in his homecountry. It is obvious that Frank’s heartfelt playing is at its peak while wrapping his inspired guitarplaying around soulful vocals, as one can hear on his first solo recording ‘Funkin’(98), a critically acclaimed disc on which his soul-packed compositions and lyrics are featured. Frank writes beautiful melodies but also has the abiltity to typecast the players that make his music sound at its best. All these ingredients have made him a household name on the Dutch music scene. Even before graduating in ’89, Frank performed at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival on several occasions and played the now defunkt Jazz Mecca Festival. Sharing the stage with the likes of jazzsaxophonists Bop Sheppard(Steely Dan) and Ernie Watts(Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder) or with renowned vocalists Mark Murphy and Greg Walker(Santana), he has developed a broad scope on music and doesn’t just stick to the jazz idiom. Whether it’s jazz, pop, soul, funk or r&b Frank has done it, lived it, worked it, and has now incorporated all these styles in his music, cooking his own musical stew which he prefers to call popjazz. The last two years he has toured the US with the Swing Design Big Band several times, making stops in prestigious venues in NYC and Las Vegas. While growing up Frank was fascinated by the duo recordings Ella Fitzgerald made with guitarwizz Joe Pass. More recently, he has found inspiration in the likes of Tuck Andress and Patti Cathart, better known as Tuck&Patti. It is this combination that has stolen Frank’s heart and the combination that forms the soil on which his recent collaborations thrive. Whether it is the music of Chaka Khan, Sting, Rachelle Ferrell, Billy Joel, Frank’s laidback, melodious guitarplaying and inventive chordal work sound at its best backing singers alike, male or female, as long as it has got soul.