News

January 2008:
John Pedersen will be performing at the Carmel Mountain Borders Store in the San Diego area on January 26, 2008 from 8-10 PM. Admission is free. Drawing from a wealth of compelling music from all five of his albums, John will be performing a mixture of solo piano ballads, uptempo smooth jazz and chill-out-lounge electronica. The venue is located at 11160 Rancho Carmel Drive in San Diego (92128 zip code). For more info, call the store at 858-618-1814.

December 2007:
John's new album, "Groovidi", did very well in 2007 with copious airplay and stellar reviews. This smooth jazz masterpiece is available as a CD or download at Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes and many other online stores. Also, John's three My Space Profiles are being frequented by many enthusiastic smooth jazz fans. Go to the "Links" page for the popular "John Pedersen" My Space page. As the year ended, John performed at several choir concerts as a piano accompanist.

September 2007:
John Pedersen will be performing at the Hot Java Cafe in Poway, California on September 15th from 7-10 PM. He will be playing a variety of smooth jazz tunes from his discography playing from his keyboard setup. Tunes from the new album, "Groovidi" will be featured prominently. That release has received radio airplay on 35 stations and has earned several outstanding reviews. Special guest, Jefferey Joe Morin, will be rotating sets with John singing and playing acoustic guitar. For more information, please call Hot Java Cafe at (858) 673-7111. The address is 11738 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92128.

March 2007:
John Pedersen's new album, "GROOVIDI", has been released!

January 2007:
"Paradise" was a staple on Washington D.C. "Smooth Jazz 105.9 FM" (WJZW) during AI Santos' "Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch". In fact, "Themes of Love" was the number 7 tune on AI's  list of the top 50 songs of 2006. Also, famous jazz musician/producer, Jason Miles, had this to say: "Paradise sounds good to me.". Reviewer Jim Trageser said, "the musicianship is solid, the grooves are pleasant...". The San Diego Reader stated that, "the acoustic-piano solos are masterful...sentimental and sweet in tone.. .and gives a quiet feeling of gentle rain". Sandy Shore, radio personality and owner of smooth jazz.com said, "Paradise is a smooth journey...a cool blend of searing guitar...and relaxed keys". Not to be out done, Stephen Ruby adds that Paradise "is a strong production full of very tasty guitar work, exemplary keyboard technique and percussionary tactics...". After a successful year with John's fourth album, "Paradise", all attention is now focused on the next project: "GROOVIDI".

December 2006:
John Pedersen's new CD, "Groovidi", is in the final mixing stages and will be released by early February, 2007. Featuring a number of great guest musicians, like Adrienne Nims on sax/flute, Jeff Winckler on drums and Andy Machin on guitar, bass and percussion, this album will continue the tradition of John's compelling keyboard work. Interesting melodies and lush soundscapes will be supported by a very hip and jazzy rhythm section. Genres explored in this new release will include: smooth jazz, funk, Latin flavored flamenco stylings, swing and solo piano. The album will open with the potential smooth jazz hit, "It's Good" followed by the Latin tinged "La Playa de Amor". The title track, "Groovidi" comes next with a chill-out downtempo type of pace which is followed by a great saxophone exhibition on "Touch of Blue". Please stay tuned to this website for future updates concerning this exciting project.

October 2006:
John's "Paradise" album has received a generous amount of radio and internet airplay in the last several months. According to Media Guide tracking services, the most played tune was, "City Lights Below" with 809 spins followed by, "Soul Mates" with 432 spins. The experimental "drum and bass" tune, "Slippery Slide" was played on a number of talk radio stations, including the very popular Bill Handel show on Los Angeles mega-station, KFI.

September 2006:
"Paradise" has been added to iTunes, as well as John's other three CDs. Over 1000 downloads have been recorded in the last two months.

April 2006:
John will be performing in Escondido, CA at the Westfield North County Fair Mall on April 29th and 30th. On both afternoons, he will be playing tunes from his four album discography on a full concert grand piano, and admission is free. In other news, a "Press" page will soon be added to this website featuring several complimentary reviews of John's new album. Radio and internet airplay is increasing and "Paradise" was on the smoothjazz.com chart as the fifth most "added" album. "City Lights Below" is the track that's getting the most airplay on smooth jazz radio. The album has also charted on the "New Age Reporter Top 100" at #25 for March mostly from airplay of the four piano instrumentals on the CD. Additionally, "Soul Mates" and "Along The Path" have both appeared on some "world fusion" and "chill out lounge" type of playlists.

February 2006:
John Pedersen's new CD, "Paradise", is currently being sent out to radio stations nationwide for possible airplay. Magazines will be sent copies for review consideration as well. Small concerts in the San Diego area are being planned to promote John's music.