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Peter Knoll
"Peter is a world class player, and even better, he has his own unique style and voice. Something that rarely one finds" GuitarPlayerZen.com
About Me
Winner of GuitarPlayerZen Magazine’s Award (November 2007)... „Peter is a world class player, and even better, he
has his own unique style and voice. Something that rarely one finds.“ His improvisational playing is truly inspiring!
Nominated for Best Composer at Cannes Shorts Film Festival 2022 with Christopher Braig and Christian Finger for
the documentary “Radio Free Newport” directed by Christopher Braig.
Working with greats like Bassist Mark E. Peterson (Cassandra Wilson, Lyle Lovett, Joan Baez) as well as
Percussionists Hahlil (Roberta Flack), Gerardo Velez (Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Spyro Gyro), Ted Baker (Steely Dan)
and Mike D. (Beastie Boys). On a rare occasion, he has been performing for German Countess Gloria von Thurn und
Taxis. Peter is also a sought after guitar teacher and the founder/owner of www.guitarclasses.nyc. Amongst his
students were the sons of Diana Krall/Elvis Costello, former Super Model Helena Christensen and Walking Dead
actor Norman Reedus and both children of The Edge, guitarist of “U2”. Quote: I recommended Peter as a teacher to
other friends and I would do it again. He really does have a lovely manner, a fun spirit, and a gift for teaching.
Growing up in a small Bavarian farm village in Germany, Peter started out taking guitar lessons at the age of 8 at the
local music school and played with bands from his teenage years onwards. He enrolled at the Guitar Institute of
Munich, graduated in 1993 and continued his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston/USA. After graduating in
1995, he studied privately with composer/saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi.
From 1996 - 2004 he lived, performed and taught in Berlin/Germany. He continued his education and received a
Yamaha teaching certificate (group class teaching method). Winning the Green Card lottery, Peter was finally able to
pursue his dream and moved to New York in 2004. After arriving in the city, he passed his first audition as a show
band/solo guitarist for Princess Cruises and was hired for six contracts (2 1/2 years). Besides working with different
artists like Indie Pop-Rock Band „Emme and the Swedes“, NYC Jazz Guitar Duo with Kent Thompson, composing
music for Multimedia Literary Webzine „Mad Hatter’s Review, he has been playing with his own experimental solo
and power duo/trio projects and improvising live along Fritz Lang silent movies.
From September 2011 to May 2012, Peter collaborated with New York based composer of sound installations
Michael J Schumacher. Since, Peter co-leads the Austrian/Brazilian/German/American improvisational quartet
„Conundrum“ with Viennese sax player Clemens Salesny, performing in Europe. In January 2014, he went on tour in
China with the hit broadway show Chicago under the original conductor Rob Bowman. He played banjo, ukulele
and mandolin in the orchestra. In September 2016, he completed an Artist-In-Residency in Poschiavo/Switzerland
(hosted by Cornelia Mueller uncool.ch) including a European solo tour in Switzerland/Italy and Germany. He is
looking forward to the same concert/workshop/artist residency tour in Europe (Germany, Austria, Italy and
Switzerland) in late August to October 2021 with additional dates at the Jazz Festival in Passau/Germany with
“Conundrum” and solo concerts/workshops in Southern Italy and Berlin.
He was faculty member from 2007 - 2017 as Guitar Teacher and Band Coach at Churchstreet School for Music and
Art, as well as different other schools in NYC. He also works as a German language coach since 2007.
Peter Knoll’s debut album „Certainty Is“ (feat. Bill Mead on drums) has been released in May 2011.
In September 2019, he released “In Your Maze” with “Breathe-Live” (feat. Christopher Braig on flute/sax and Christian
Finger on drums).
In February 2020, he recorded guitar tracks for the Italian/French full feature black horror comedy “Bad Habits Die
Hard” by Riccardo Papa. The music was composed by Susan DiBona & Salvatore Sangiovanni (The Villa Studios).
The live double album Love Is My Soul (feat. Mark Peterson on bass, Andy O'Neill on drums has been released on
February 15th 2021 by his own record label PUK Records.
A new trio record has been recorded and mastered and will be released in April 2023 on PUK Records.
New Duo Recording with Nimbu2 with Christian Finger on drums planned in February 2023 at Bunker Studios in
Brooklyn.
My Jazz Story
I was first exposed to jazz during my studies at MGI in Munich and later on at Berklee College Of Music