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John Pedersen's "White Owl"

A diverse collection of wonderful tunes featuring lush soundscapes, beautiful piano passages and memorable melodies performed on keyboards by John with great drums and percussion by Mark Sarno.

"White Owl" was released in June 1997 after seven months of recording at Mark Sarno's "Session Artists" Studios in Escondido, CA. Using state of the art synths like the Kurzweil K2500 as well as the retro-analog sound of the Roland JX8P, John created a synergistic sound featuring old and new. The Emu Proformance Piano Module, Roland JV-880, Roland W-30 Sampler and the Kork X-3 were also used. Mark Sarno's live drums added more of an organic feel to the album, to complement John's electronic arsenal. Native American flute and beautiful strings were weaved into the fabric of this masterpiece.
This was a concept album based on a short story written by John Pedersen entitled, "The Story of White Owl". It describes an encounter with an angelic shaman by the name of "White Owl" and how this being was able to help a troubled person through some difficult times. The story, loosely based on events in John's life, was written to make sense out of the confusing maze that we call "life".

In addition to the co-production and graphic design services of Mark Sarno, a drawing by Escondido (CA) artist, Cynthia Zimmerman, ended up on the cover of the album.

The album charted on the New Age Voice Top 100 at a peak position of #78 for several months and had considerable airplay on new age radio stations. With the release of John's fourth CD, "Paradise", and the 2007 release, "Groovidi", White Owl has won over new fans as indicated by increasing internet sales, especially on iTunes. Monad FM, Mystic Age Radio, KCCK and WTUL-FM (New Orleans) have continued to play tracks from the album even many years after its release. Additionally, "Generally Gentle Radio" began airing, "Free Flight", in Spring of 2008. Airplay on various "new age" stations has persisted well into present day, including inclusion on the cable based, MUSIC CHOICE and copious downloads on iTunes and Spotify. White Owl was added to Pandora in August of 2018.

Bill Binkelman of Wind and Wire Magazine wrote, "White Owl is a well done blend of genres...a musical collage that holds together remarkably well. It's a recording that wears more than a few hats and does them all with flair and style".

Prior to White Owl's release, John and drummer Mark Sarno performed on New Year's Eve 1996 and previewed a spirited version of "Free Flight" in the San Diego (CA) area. After the album was out, John performed at a number of street fairs and churches to promote the CD. John performed a number of "White Owl" tunes at several concerts in 2006 resulting in additional sales. More shows followed in 2007/2008 at small venues, including BORDERS, with tunes from "White Owl" being well received.

Please listen to the audio samples of this classic new age album and discover what "White Owl" can do for you, and then purchase this wonderful CD.


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