Peter Elman
Peter Elman is an American record producer, songwriter, pianist, guitarist, bassist, trombonist, vocalist and writer. He has been performing, writing and producing since 1962. Elman has performed and recorded with artists such as Peaches & Herb, Lacy J. Dalton, Roy Buchanan and Tom Johnston. In 1990, Elman recorded Durango Saloon, a collection of instrumental pieces inspired by the American West. In 1993, he followed that with Dakota Nights, and in 1994 released Race Point, an album that ranges from rock to Caribbean rhythms to plaintive ballads. 1998 brought First Take, an instrumental rock album featuring Stef Burns on guitar.
His albums have sold over 100,000 copies and his music has been played in films, television and nationwide on adult alternative radio. Larry King Live featured music from Race Point, the CBS Movie of the Week, Blue Rodeo, featured music from Durango Saloon, and ABC's Good Morning America also used music from Durango Saloon.[1][2]
Biography
Elman grew up in Glen Echo, Maryland, where he learned the piano at the age of seven. His mother’s family is musical—his cousin Sidney Lippman wrote the classic “Too Young” for Nat King Cole. Elman listened to his transistor radio late at night and was inspired by music from Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans. He started playing professionally in rock and soul bands in the Washington, D.C. area at the age of 11. Elman attended college in Boston where he played trombone in the band Swallow, and lived in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for a year. He moved to California with the band Lazy River in 1973, spent two years in Santa Cruz, and lived in Austin, Texas, from 1976 to 1977, where he played with members of The Willie Nelson Band and formed the short-lived but acclaimed band, Cauldron. He moved back to California in 1977, settling in the Bay Area, where he worked as a session musician on dozens of records and national television and radio ads. Elman was an original member of the popular San Francisco band, Pride & Joy. He moved to the East Bay in 1985, where he lives with his wife and two children.
Elamn is also a published writer and part-time teacher in the Albany school district. He has written 30 columns about baseball for the Oakland Athletics Fans website (OAFC) and currently covers prep sports part-time for the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune. He has written two books and is currently working on two others, one about his many experiences as a musician.
Music production
Through his production company, Real Dream Music, Elamn has produced several albums for various artists, among them Wintercreek by Tony Elman, Santa Fe Trails for Brentwood Music, Dream by Michael DeWall, First and Ten by Tom McCord, Glaciers Come, Glaciers Go by Ned Selfe, and Camptown by Joe Craven.[3] Camptown received positive reviews in the Oakland Tribune, Sing Out magazine, AllMusic and the Chicago Tribune, which gave the album 3½ stars and called it "A success and unique for a 'traditional music disc'".[4]
References
- "The Artists of Real Dream Music". Realdreammusic.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- "Music Licensing - Real Dream Music". Realdreammusic.com. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- "Acorn Music: Peter Elman". Web.archive.org. 17 February 1997. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- "Joe Craven | Reviews, Music, Performance". Web.archive.org. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2021.