Lyric and vocal virtuosity” (Aaron Foster –Chart Attack)

Winner of the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award and the Grand Prize Winner of Toronto's IndieWeek, Peter Katz has been delighting listeners with his captivating blend of folk, jazz and rock music. His ethereal vocal work, profoundly honest lyrics and dynamic guitar style have earned him repeated comparisons to such greats as Jeff Buckley, Martin Sexton and Ron Sexsmith. Performing regularly to sold-out crowds in Ontario and Quebec and ever-increasing numbers across the country, Katz has been winning over fans the old-fashioned way: one at a time through great music and an intensely powerful live-show.

As a testament to Peter Katz’ remarkable grassroots efforts, his self-produced, self-released demos ‘The One Minute Mile Man’ and ‘Split’ sold over 3500 copies in less than 2 years. June 23rd, 2007 saw the release of ‘More Nights’, Peter Katz’ first official full-length album and joined by his backing band, The Curious. The album was recorded at the legendary Metalworks Studio as well as at the Hive in Toronto with funding partially provided by a FACTOR grant. ‘More Nights’ features guest appearances from some of the brightest names in the music scene today including: Luke Doucet (Sarah McLachlan, Jim Cuddy), Melissa McClelland, Kevin Breitt (Norah Jones), Valery Gore, Alex McMaster (A Northern Chorus) and Marc Rogers (K’naan, Holly Cole). Only 9 months into its independent release, the album has already sold nearly 3000 copies and has just been picked up by Curve/Universal Music for re-release worldwide.

Recent activity for Peter Katz includes 4 successful national solo tours (100+ dates a year), invitations to play at such festivals as The Ottawa Folk Fest, CAMFest, In the Dead of Winter, Canadian Music Week, NXNE (for which he scored a 91 % on his Chart Attack report card), back to back sold-out shows at the Rivoli in Toronto, an invitation to perform for 2 weeks at the prestigious Karmina Palace in Manzanillo, Mexico as well as a special invitation by the National Arts Center to play in Vimy, France as part of the 90th anniversary re-dedication ceremony of the Vimy Monument. Katz has also managed to land several strong support spots with such notable artists as Bedouin Soundclash, The Cat Empire, Jeremy Fisher, Tokyo Police Club, Danny Michel, Melissa McClelland, Tomi Swick, Emm Gryner and more.

At radio, CBC, college, community and internet stations have been playing Peter's music, with 'More Nights' charting on most college radio stations across the country including several top 10 placements. Peter also performed live on CBC's show 'Go!', while his song 'Forgiveness' was featured on programs such as 'As It Happens' and 'Metro Morning'.

In addition to his blossoming music career, Peter Katz has also been receiving considerable attention as a composer, writing music for numerous modern dance choreographers, including Naomi Lebel (OMO Dance Company) & Andrea Spaziani (DanceVein, IDAC). Katz was also recently commissioned to compose an original 30-minute score for renowned international choreographer Meagan O’Shea’s new work “When I See You Again” which premiered at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto as part of the Indie Unlimited Festival.

Peter is currently on his 5th Canadian National tour as well as preparing for his follow-up record.

QUOTES:

"Peter Katz has steadily made a great name for himself in the Canadian music industry. His high energy performances, and well-crafted songs make him one of the best live acts I've had come through my club in years. His music seems to strike a chord in people. Combine that with his strong work ethic and it makes me wonder why no one has snatched this guy up yet. If I had the money, I'd put it into his future."
Chris Loane, Booker for The Rivoli & Tatoo, Toronto, Ontario

"Beautiful and intimate, More Nights is an album from a young Canadian artist that shows true musical brilliance. More Nights deserves to explode onto the indie rock scene and hopefully gets Peter Katz the credit he deserves for creating such enjoyable, personal folk music" Jordyn Marcellus, Gauntlet

"A gifted, eloquent songwriter" View Mag

"Katz resembles kindred spirit Ron Sexsmith and his subtle acoustic charm, while channeling Hawksley Workman's grief stricken vocals. The music is reinforced by Katz's genuinely heartbreaking take on modern day love-tragedies...More Nights begs the question: why is such a talented songwriter with such well-crafted pop songs still an independent artist?" Jason Gladu, Pop Journalism Magazine

"More Nights is truly worth the expense it took to make...The stark arrangements serve perfectly the singer's penchant for finely crafted lyrics" Bill Adam, Echo Weekly

[Katz] breathes life into Buckley's unique stream of folk music and for a moment garners smiles from those who worshiped the genre. But Katz by no means lives in Buckley's shadow. He carves his own niche in the industry and delivers a unique blend of folk with a vintage sound.. Peter Katz embodies Canadian folk" Andrew Seale, Spill Magazine

"A gifted songwriter blessed with a gorgeous, warm voice" See Magazine

"A great musician who knows the sound(s) he's listening for, maintaining a uniqueness throughout the release" Antoine Tedesco, Scene and Heard

"His lyrics are brilliantly descriptive which allows you to escape into a world that he creates. No lack of talent here" SoulShine

"Few songwriters can lyrically put together songs that seem to speak to everyone, capturing universal moments of emotion. Katz does" Just another song.com

“His awe-inspiring performance and captivating energy are side notes to the level of integrity he performs his art with” Brent Bain, Music Manager

“Peter was a joy to work with, both musically and personally. It is my opinion that Peter has all of the attributes needed to find success in today’s competitive music business” Mike Turner, ‘Our Lady Peace’ guitarist and owner of The Pocket Studios

“I'm looking forward to finding opportunities to help Peter in his career in any way that I can, and would, without hesitation, nudge anyone I met to do the same. I know that, once you hear a few of his tracks, and, should you be so lucky as to meet Peter, you'd very likely feel the same.”
Christopher Mills, JUNO award winning director (The Tragically Hip, Stars, Sam Roberts...)

"Peter plays as if to a room of millions, but each person feels as if he is playing to them alone. His music and live performances reach people in a very personal way."
Dave Stelling, Warner Music