Peter Fraize Quartet

A distinct voice as a saxophonist and composer, Peter Fraize is known for his impassioned high-energy playing, intricate and melodic writing, and a “no-boundaries” sensibility. His music draws from deep within the jazz tradition, exploratory free improvisation, modern rock and pop, and music from around the world. Based in Washington, DC, he is also familiar to international audiences through tours and concert appearances in Europe, Peru, and Japan.

Over the past 30 years Peter has established himself as a bandleader beginning with his jazz/rock group Stickman which enjoyed a large following throughout the 1990’s and recently reunited. In 1996 he formed the “chord-less” Peter Fraize Quintet, releasing the live recording You St. that same year on Union Records, an independent label he co-founded. He followed up with Third Attention, featuring his trio with whom he hosted weekly jam sessions at area clubs, including the legendary One Step Down. In the summer of 2008, he was invited to Peru to perform a series of concerts with some of that country’s finest musicians, documenting the results on Live in Lima. Over the past decade, he has been performing and recording with his Hammond organ group. His Organic Matter album received the 2010 Washington Area Music Association award (“Wammie”) for Best Jazz Recording. In 2017 he released Facts + Figures which introduced his New Quintet, following up with 2018’s Chord Lines/In the Groove, featuring reworkings of classic and contemporary pop and rock songs. Peter’s most recent project is the transatlantic group Atlanticus with whom he has toured to UK four times and released two albums, Blue Haven (2022) and Upstream (2023), with a third to be released in the summer of 2024.