Canadian saxophonist Peter Van Huffel, a New York resident since 2002, currently splits his time between the European and New York jazz scenes. Steve Smith of Time Out New York has referred to Peter as “a compelling melodist with a fiery outward-bound streak and a penchant for layering opposed rhythms in quirky, compelling ways..." and Peter’s latest release for Fresh Sound Records has been called “one of the more memorable Fresh Sounds discs in a while” by Jim MacNie of the Village Voice. His quintet performs regularly at such New York staples as the 55 Bar and the Cornelia Street Cafe, and at a number of important venues in the rapidly growing Brooklyn music scene. Peter is an apprentice of David Liebman and Pat LaBarbera, and has toured extensively throughout Canada, Europe and the United States as a leader and a sideman. Peter has performed alongside such world-renowned musicians as Chris Potter, Clarence Penn and Donny McCaslin, and has obtained his Master's in music from the Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

Peter’s latest CD, “Silvester Battlefield”, featuring his New York Quintet, was released on the Fresh Sound/New Talent record label in the summer of 2007. Peter has also recorded two previous CD's under his own name - the first, “Mind Over Matter”, features Peter’s earlier compositions performed by his Toronto based ensemble; and the second, an independent release with the NY Quintet recorded live in NYC in May, 2005. In addition to his own group, Peter is currently working with a number of new collaborative projects including the New-York based trio ANIMAL FORUM featuring Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser and Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz; and HuffLiGNoN, a collaboration with Belgian vocalist Sophie Tassignon featuring an unusual instrumentation of voice, saxophone, trombone and bass. HuffLiGNoN’s debut CD is set for release in the fall of 2008 on Portugal's Clean Feed Records, and ANIMAL FORUM has recently released their first CD independently. In addition to these ensembles Peter also performs in a duo project with Canadian pianist Greg de Denus; VHF, a European-based quartet co-led by German bassist Roland Fidezius; “Kenosha Kid” led by guitarist Dan Nettles from Athens, Georgia; and Sherisse Rogers’ “Project Uprising”. He can also be heard on a variety of recordings from other artists including the most recent release from Lily Maase’s New York based project “theSuiteUnravelling”.