Winter 2024

M any careers follow a “great circle” path. A man or woman be- gins their working life following an early interest, often in a creative field, then becomes side- tracked for a variety of reasons into another, perhaps more lucrative, field that is perhaps, but not necessarily, related to that earlier passion. After finding success in that endeavor and finding time on their hands, many times the creative fire that had been simmering comes back to life. Such is the arc of music busi- ness entrepreneur and musician Peter Gordon of Carmel Valley. As a young New Jersey lad, Gordon was drawn to music. “I was beating up all the pots and pans in the house, so my mom decided to get lessons for me,” he says. “When you start on pots and pans you end up a drummer. But I remember in about third grade I decided that I wanted to play the flute.” A band teacher who needed more drummers than flautists asked him, “Do you like blowing into a bottle?” “I said ‘No, not particularly.’ He replied ‘Well, that’s what playing a flute is like. You’re a drummer.’” And young Gordon was talented, performing in jazz, rock and marching bands and in orches- tras. But he didn’t give up on the flute. “While I was studying at George Washington University, there was no one who could tell me I couldn’t play the flute,” he says. “I started taking lessons.” At one point the university brought in a guest artist. “They said it was ‘this guy from France.’” “This guy” turned out to be world-renowned flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. Gordon went on to study jazz basics at Howard University. Years later he was blessed to learn from one of the great masters, multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. “He taught me how to dig deep versus just playing. That’s the differ- ence between a musician and an artist.You must be fearless.” After col- lege, Gordon was a full-time New York City musician, playing both reeds and percussion for everything from weddings to club gigs to studio work. “It was such a hustle,” he says. “It kind of killed music for me then.” He began thinking of ways to help other musicians. The year was 1977, and record companies were focused on a narrow range of gen- res. “They were only interested in Top 40, Album Oriented Rock (AOR) and some other rock music,” Gordon recalls. “I realized that there were dozens of college radio sta- 148 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 During his several decades long career in the music business, Gordon worked with Duran Duran and many other top recording acts. Today, he has turned his focus on performing and recording his own music. Photos: Courtesy of Peter Gordon With Dick Clark and engineer Bill Kates during Thirsty Ear’s production of “A Day to Remember.”