Peter Silver,

A composer of mainly instrumental music, with an emotionally driven style that crosses the genres of Easy Listening and Chillout with elements of Ambient, Lounge, Jazz, Blues, light Classical and Rock. Simplicity and emotion are his driving forces - if there is no passion, there is no music.

Expanding the scope and repertoire of his previous holiday recording, Kater is joined here by a violin, sax and flute on six traditional and four original Kater compositions, making for another classic recording.
Peter Kater is a prolific pianist and composer known for his scores for television, film, and theater, as well as for his own recordings of light jazz and instrumental new age music. He became widely established in the 1980s and '90s, recording numerous albums for the Colorado-based Silver Wave label, several of which were acclaimed collaborations with Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, A Silver Mt. Zion (just one of its many names) came to life in 1999 as a project for Godspeed You! Black Emperor member Efrim Menuck in his attempt to learn to score music. The original idea was pushed aside, and the project would go on to become a group setting, and was more in touch with the idea of the organic growth and exploration of music than the heavily composed and arranged theoretical work of Godspeed. Inspired to record an album of the music that had been made, Menuck built up the first version of A Silver Mt. Zion, taking on violinist Sophie Trudeau and bassist Thierry Amar, both known as collaborators in the Godspeed family. The band made its live debut in 1999 and released its first album, He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms…, on Constellation in 2000. Still known as A Silver Mt. Zion, the band expanded its membership in 2000 – adding cellist Beckie Foon, guitarist Ian Ilavsky, and violinist Jessica Moss – which led to the first of many name changes.

Migration seems almost capable of sweeping away any sense of trouble, and soothing out any fears. The music on the album is basically of an improvisational nature, with pianist Kater and flautist Nakai developing themes and ideas that were then fleshed out in the process of recording. The music was conceived originally as a foundation for personal ritual; in the thematic development that followed, the scope of the music was widened to include spiritual growth as well, hence the title and direction of the tracks. The root of the music continues to be Kater's gentle piano constructions coupled with Nakai's Native American flutes, whistles and low-key chanting and humming; other instruments are built into this foundation, strengthening the whole rather than indulging in arrangement for the sake of it - there's no apparent attempt to impress with musical trickery here…