JIM PETERSON'S BIO

Jim Peterson has been playing and teaching saxophone and woodwinds in the Bay Area for more than 25 years. He started playing saxophone in his teens and went on to study with Ed Tomasi, Randy Feltz and Joe Viola at Berklee School of Music in Boston, and locally, with Bill Bell and Bill Trimble.

Since settling in San Francisco, Jim has been a freelance musician and side man with variety of bands and ensembles, including Beaufunk, Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88's, Steve Lucky and the Rumba Bums and President's Breakfast. Jim is a founding member and composer for MoFone, Giant Trio, Mumbo Gumbo, and The New Squatoolas. He toured with both Steve Lucky and Mitch Woods, performing at various jazz festivals and venues in Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as locally with various groups at the Monterey Jazz and Blues Festivals.

Jim has also composed and performed for local theater productions of The Still Point and The Connection, as well as a dance theater performance with local artists Carol LeMaitre and Joe Cunningham.

Since 1996, he’s been a teacher at Blue Bear School of American Music at Fort Mason, teaching multiple band workshops as well as private lessons for sax, flute and clarinet. He was named Blue Bear’s Teacher of the Year in 2009 and was asked to join the Blue Bear Board of Trustees in 2011 as the teacher representative on the board.