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Peter Narvaez | ||||||
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Peter Narvaez (pronounced nar-VY-ez) has entertained Newfoundland, Labrador and Atlantic Canadian audiences with his performances of downhome acoustic blues, ragtime, and original songs for over thirty years. One of the finest fingerstyle guitarists in the province, he has appeared as a soloist at the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, the Carbonear Folk Festival, the Whalin' the Blues Festival, the Halifax Blues Festival, the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival (Fredericton), the Atlantic Scene Festival (Ottawa), and the Southcoast Blues Festival (aka Mudcat Blues Fest, Dunnville, Ontario). In August of 2005, Peter's thirty year reunion concert ("Da Boys Play the Blues") with fellow Newfoundland blues musicians Denis Parker and Scott Goudie for Second Stage Productions was a sold out, critically acclaimed engagement ("All three are superb players and recording artists, our very own 'blues godfathers'"). Internationally, Peter has performed at the the Nottoden Blues Festival (Notodden, Norway), the Northampton (Massachsetts) Blues, Brews, and Barbecue Festival, opening for the Blind Boys of Alabama, the King William Fair, for the San Antonio Blues Society, and a solo concert in Cork, Ireland, for enthusiastic members of the Lee Delta Blues Club. An educator as well a musician, Peter has taught folksong, blues and jazz courses for Memorial University's Department of Folklore, and School of Music, and has written many articles on blues and traditional song. Bringing this background to his performances, Peter engages audiences with his knowledge of the history and practice of blues. He also conducts and participates in workshops and lectures on blues history and technique. In August 2004, he participated in a SOCAN blues songwriting workshop at the Halifax Blues Festival (2004) with blues artists Michael Jerome Browne, Travis Furlong, Chris Field and Pam Marsh. In November 2005 he conducted "Harmonica Magic," for Blue Island Records, a day long workshop with country music harmonicist Peter McGuire, of Five for Silver. | ||
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Peter with Michael Jerome Browne at the Halifax Blues Festival, 2004. | ||||
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In Newfoundland, Peter's songs have been performed by Ron Hynes, Cathy Jones, Jamie Snider, The Wonderful Grand Band, Denis Parker, Roger Howse, Scott Goudie, Dog Meat Barbecue, Anita Best, and Vicky Hynes among others. Often appearing as an acoustic soloist, he has also played and recorded with many bands including the Rhythm Knights, the Hootchie Kootchie Jug Busters, Homegas, Marty and the Marginals, Divin' Duck, Terry and the Pirates, Hired Help, the Wonderful Grand Band, Bopular Demand, the Scott Goudie Band, the Denis Parker Band, the Roger Howse Band, Cookstown Jukes, Duncan and Brady, Whoopaxe, and the Powerhouse Blues Band. A frequent contributor to CBC radio's Goosebumps and the Performance Hour, he co-hosted, scripted, and performed with Denis Parker on CBC's history of blues series "Red, Hot and Blue." TV appearances include performances on "The Wonderful Grand Band Show" (CBC), "Out of the Fog" (Rogers) and an ECMA showcase (Rogers). Peter's first commercially recorded in 1958, while he was still attending high school in Boonton, New Jersey, with the band Pete & Jimmy & the Rhythm Knights (see photo below), for Castle Records. The "A" side, "So Wild," one of the first songs Peter wrote, was published by Alan Freed (DJ father of "rock 'n' roll"). It has since been reissued in North America and Europe, on LP and CD compilations of rare rockabilly singles, at least eight times (see online discography) and once as a 45 rpm record. | ||
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A fusion of acoustic blues and bluegrass ("bluesgrass"), Peter's first vinyl LP, Homegas, featured his original songs and was produced by legendary blues guitarist John Fahey who released the record on his Takoma label (see Takoma online discography; cover below) in 1968. The album, very unlike acoustic music of the time, also featured the artistry of Neil Rosenberg (banjo) and Richard Blaustein (fiddle). | ||
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In 1986 Peter's blues-rockabilly LP entitled Rock 'n’ Roll Ruby (see photo below), received critical plaudits from regional, national, and international reviewers (The Herald, Atlantic Insight, Variety Tonight, Roots and Rhythm). It's an album of standout original tunes and arrangements as well as exceptional leads from Sandy Morris (guitar) and a young John Nugent (sax). | ||
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His latest CD, Some Good Blues (see below) was the basis for Peter’s receiving nominations as "Blues Artist of the Year" from the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (2002) and the East Coast Music Awards (2003). Critically, the CD has received accolades from many quarters (see Reviews), most notably from Blues Revue ("his sturdy tunes beautifully blend the dark and the light"), the world's largest selling blues journal. | ||
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Peter's first CD, Some Good Blues, may be purchased online. Click on sellers below. | |
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Also see ... | ||
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For streaming audio from Some Good Blues ... | |||
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Check out Jim Culleny's No Utopia! | ||
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