The title Fire might suggest roiling textures or a conflagration of sound, but this volume of Peter Kater's four-disc Elements series is golden sunsets and hearthside caresses. Purely acoustic, Fire has a nostalgic aura. Paul McCandless's pennywhistles and Ludvig Girdland's violin lend it a Celtic flavor on tracks like "Eternal Sunshine," while on "The Way Home" that same fiddle takes on a tinge of Americana, framing McCandless's forlorn oboe and Kater's pensive piano. In fact, Kater sounds like he's writing words on a page, contemplating each note before he lets it drop. The entire disc has the intuitive feel of guided improvisations, like you might expect from highly-attuned jazz players, but with a greater concern for the ensemble sound than the individual solo. It's difficult to play music this introspective, and sometimes it feels painfully slow, but guided by a sense of melancholy and contemplation, Peter Kater and company pull it off. --John Diliberto From Air s ambient nature to the melodious spectrum of Water and Fire, Kater has reinvented himself while never sounding pretentious. -- Michael Debbage, Solo Piano Publications, January 2006 The bass clarinet, flute, piano, and soprano saxophone form a symphony of elements to help you become calm and relaxed. -- Bridget Eldridge, American Spa Magazine, January 2006 Twice Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling pianist, Peter Kater has written the music for over seventy television and film programs including eleven On and Off-Broadway dramatic plays. His more than 30 critically acclaimed CD releases in 20 years range from Contemporary Jazz, World Fusion and Native American collaborations to full orchestrations and of course, his signature solo piano recordings. His PIANO recording, released in October of 2003 was just nominated for the "Best New Age Album" of 2004 Grammy Award. Receiving extensive world-wide airplay on a diverse array of radio formats, Kater’s broad creative stroke has touched millions of hearts. Over the last few years his music was heard in the NBC broadcast of the 2000 & 2004 Summer Olympics; he collaborated with Kenny Loggins on his December CD and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The majority of his albums have appeared in the Top 10 of National Airplay charts and in the Top 20 of Billboard’s New Age and Contemporary Jazz charts. Of German birth and descent, Peter moved to New Jersey from Munich, Germany at the age of four and began studying the piano, at his mother’s demand, when he was seven. Seven years of classical training led into playing Rock & Roll and Top 40 bands around New Jersey and New York while studying contemporary improvisation. Moving to Boulder, Colorado at the age of eighteen, he began a six-year period of playing only improvisationally in clubs throughout the Rocky Mountain region. "I didn’t want to play anything the same way twice, being in the moment and spontaneous was very important to me, both musically and personally", said Kater. Since then he's recorded and performed nationally and internationally with some of the worlds most talented and accomplished musicians, actors, directors and authors.