New York · Carolina · San Francisco · Los Angeles · Kansas · Recognition · Pedagogy
This dossier documents nearly three decades of Pere Soto’s activity in the United States: early recognition for Metanoic, the New York recording of Particular Vernacular, club and festival performances, DjangoFest appearances, academic residency at the University of Kansas, and later inclusion in Artists for Peace.
← Back to Historical ArchiveAlthough much of Pere Soto’s European activity was based in the Netherlands, the United States became a fundamental territory for recognition as a guitarist and composer, for recordings and collaborations, and for festival and academic work. From the early 1990s through 2020, his US trajectory includes clubs and festivals, New York sessions with leading American musicians, specialised institutions, and major gypsy-jazz festivals on the West Coast.
This page covers documented US activity from 1992 to 2020. Some venue and festival details continue to be refined as the archive is reconstructed. Metanoic was recorded in Hilversum (Netherlands) but is included here for its US reception; Particular Vernacular is the central New York creation of the period.
| Year | Milestone | Source / scope |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Metanoic (recorded Hilversum) selected best album of the month and top 12 of the year by the Jazz South Art Federation (USA); US radio airplay. | Artist discography; Jazz South Art Federation; artist CV. |
| 1992 | Performance at the Jazz Festival, Charlotte, North Carolina. | Artist archive / trajectory documentation. |
| 1994 | Recording of Particular Vernacular in New York with Jeff Ballard, Ben Allison, Dave Douglas, Dave Liebman, Bill Gerhardt and Pere Soto. | Artist discography; session credits. |
| 1995 | Performance at Visiones Jazz Club, New York (August). | Artist archive. |
| 1990s–2000s | San Francisco: Pearl’s Jazz Club and Mouskoni Center. | Artist archive / trajectory notes. |
| 2004 | Watertown Festival, New York; Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville, North Carolina; Central Market, Austin, Texas with Alex Coke Quintet (within a long international tour including England and Mexico). | Artist CV / tour documentation. |
| 2006 | Inclusion in Uncommon Sound by John Engel (left-handed guitarists of special relevance; European selection including Pere Soto). | John Engel, Uncommon Sound. |
| 2008 | San Francisco DjangoFest and Los Angeles Djangofest. Los Angeles Times listed programming including Pere Soto alongside Tommy Davy Trio and John Jorgenson Quartet/Quintet; guitar workshops with guest masters. | Los Angeles Times (May 2008); festival programmes. |
| 2009 | Oasis — Pere Soto & David Valdez (Diatic Records; US production). | Discography; Diatic Records. |
| 2018 | Artist-in-residence, Jazz Department, University of Kansas (KU). Master class and concerts in Kansas City with David Valdez. | University of Kansas / artist documentation. |
| 2020 | Inclusion in Artists for Peace (New York–linked project, directed/co-funded by Joel Thome). | Artists for Peace / artist documentation. |
Although recorded in Hilversum, Metanoic was selected by the Jazz South Art Federation as best album of the month and among the twelve outstanding albums of the year, with broadcast on US radio stations. An early international footprint in the American circuit.
Recorded in New York leading the project with Bill Gerhardt and a line-up of leading New York musicians: Jeff Ballard (drums), Ben Allison (bass), Dave Douglas (trumpet), Dave Liebman (saxophone). A central document of Soto’s artistic relationship with New York and contemporary American jazz.
Visiones Jazz Club (New York, August 1995); Pearl’s Jazz Club and Mouskoni Center (San Francisco). Continuity on the American jazz scene after the New York recording.
Watertown Festival (New York); Diana Wortham Theatre (Asheville, NC); Central Market, Austin with Alex Coke Quintet — within a six-month international tour also covering England and Mexico.
Inclusion in John Engel’s book on left-handed guitarists of special historical relevance, alongside figures such as Jimi Hendrix, Albert King and Paul McCartney. Recognition beyond concert or disc reviews.
Two of the major US festivals dedicated to Django Reinhardt and manouche jazz. Los Angeles Times published the LA festival programme naming Pere Soto with Tommy Davy Trio and John Jorgenson Quartet/Quintet, and noted guest guitar workshops. A clear consolidation within the American gypsy-jazz circuit.
US production (Diatic Records). The collaboration later resumes in Kansas City (2018).
Invited by the Jazz Department of the University of Kansas. Master class and concerts in Kansas City with David Valdez — performance and pedagogy in an academic jazz context.
Incorporation into the Artists for Peace project linked to New York (Joel Thome). Extends the US presence beyond the jazz scene into an international music-and-peace initiative.
Metanoic and Jazz South Art Federation; US radio; Uncommon Sound.
New York as the place chosen to record Particular Vernacular with first-rank American musicians.
DjangoFest San Francisco and Los Angeles; academic residency at the University of Kansas; Artists for Peace.
Materials supporting the reconstruction of this stage (to be expanded):
1992–2020 · Nearly three decades
New York for creation.
San Francisco and Los Angeles for the gypsy-jazz circuit.
Kansas for pedagogy and academic transmission.
The United States is not an isolated episode: it is one of the territories that accompany Pere Soto’s international evolution from the 1990s into the maturity of his career.