Pete Huttlinger
“In Pete Huttlinger’s hands, a
fingerpicked flat-top becomes a mini-orchestra. He juggles
it all: a tune’s melody, harmony, and bass lines—even
percussion. His playing is fun, scary, and always
inspiring.”
Guitar Player
After a day of demanding music
classes at Berklee College, Peter Huttlinger would grab a
friend, rush to the Harvard Square subway station and spend the
afternoon there playing music for tips. The two always came back
with their pockets filled. For Huttlinger, this routine
symbolized what has become his abiding outlook toward music:
Perfect your art, but play to the crowd.
Since his days of subway busking, Huttlinger has developed into a
world-renowned guitarist. Even as a must-have sideman, he occupied some pretty
choice real estate, including the Hollywood Bowl and London’s Royal Albert Hall
with John Denver, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and stadiums around the world
with numerous other pop and country superstars.
He has been a featured artist
with the San Diego and Houston symphonies and is a favorite
guest artist of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. In 2000
Huttlinger won the title of National Fingerstyle Champion at the
prestigious Walnut Valley Festival.
In the past five years,
Huttlinger has stepped into the solo spotlight. He has just
released his latest CD, The Santa Rita Connection. This
newest collection is hot on the heels of his critically
acclaimed Naked Pop CD. Ten of the 13 tracks on The
Santa Rita Connection are original compositions. “I’ve been
writing tunes since I was 14 years old,” says Huttlinger.
Naked Pop was a way to introduce my playing to people using
tunes that they were familiar and comfortable with, thus setting
the stage for a CD of my own tunes.” The Santa Rita
Connection does however include some classic covers, such as
the blinding version of George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,”
Huttlinger’s mind-boggling arrangement of Steve Wonder’s
“Superstition,” and a beautiful adaptation of the timeless
“Sunny.”
Huttlinger refers to The Santa Rita Connection as “my best collection
of fingerstyle performances ever.” He explains, “My playing has matured to a
point where I feel really comfortable. I’m at a place where my technical chops
and writing skills are all coming together.”
Born in Washington, D.C., Huttlinger descended from two lines of prominent
journalists. His grandfather on his mother’s side, Fred Walker, was an editor of
the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, reporting directly to its owner and
publisher, William Randolph Hearst. Huttlinger’s father, Joseph, was a White
House correspondent and a publisher of his own newsletter on the oil industry.
"My dad took my mom to the White House on their first date," Huttlinger says,
"and while they were walking around, President Truman came out and said, ‘Hi,
Joe.’ That got Mom’s attention.”
When Huttlinger’s father died in
1964, his mother moved with her six children to northern
California. "My mom played piano — almost every evening,"
Huttlinger recalls. "It was real comforting to hang out and
listen. She wasn’t trained, but she had a real melodic sense
about her."
By the age of 12, Huttlinger had
begun music lessons and by 14 he had settled on the guitar. Soon
after he graduated from high school, a relative left him a small
inheritance. He decided to use this windfall to study at Berklee
College of Music, the Boston-based academic home of such musical
luminaries as Quincy Jones, Kevin Eubanks, Melissa Ethridge,
Brandford Marsalis, Bruce Cockburn and Paula Cole. It was there
that Huttlinger found he had a knack for music theory and
harmony. "All that made sense to me," he says.
Huttlinger graduated cum laude
from Berklee in 1984 and moved to Nashville. During the eighteen
years since that move, Huttlinger has established himself as a
top-notch session player, composer, arranger, bandleader,
songwriter and sideman.
During the early ‘90’s, John
Denver’s tour manager and producer Kris O’Connor heard
Huttlinger on another project and was so impressed that he
recommended him for Denver’s band. Huttlinger toured, recorded
and performed on television with Denver from 1994 until the
singer’s death in 1997.
Huttlinger has performed on numerous Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated
projects. He has also been nominated for an Emmy for music he both composed and
performed for a PBS special. His performances have been used in several national
TV series, including the PBS Nature special "Let This Be A Voice." He
created the theme song for ESPN’s Flyfishing America, a program on which
he has made guest appearances.
Competing at the Walnut Valley
Festival in Winfield, Kansas, Huttlinger matched licks with 37
of the nimblest guitarists in the world to win the 2000 National
Fingerpick Guitar Championship. He has since been featured on
the cover of Fingerstyle Guitar twice, and has been
profiled in Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar,
Vintage Guitar and Guitar World Acoustic. He has
created two series of instructional DVDs that have become
Homespun Tapes top sellers. One series is his much in demand
Learn To Play The Songs of John Denver (Vol. I, II & III).
The other series includes instructionals of his own arrangements
and practice techniques.
Peers consider Huttlinger one of
today’s finest fingerstyle guitarists. Dirty Linen
magazine labeled him "….a powerhouse guitarist," and Guitar
Player magazine referred to his playing as "…an amazing
display of all-around fingerstyle mastery. Scary stuff.”
Huttlinger lives in
Nashville and plays everywhere.
Call 865-983-3330 or click Tickets
for more info
The Palace Theater is conveniently located in
Downtown Maryville just 17 miles south of Knoxville, TN.
South from Knoxville: Travel 129 South past the
airport. Take the right fork and turn left at the first light.
Pass 4 or 5 lights and Take the first right
onto Broadway.
The Palace is will be on the right.
Plenty of Free
Parking in the city municipal lot.
Back
to the Concert Page
|