Peter Bernstein

Electric Guitar icon Electric Guitar

57 age

September 3, 1967 Birthday

New York, New York, U.S. Birthplace

www.peterbernsteinmusic.com Website

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About

Peter Bernstein is a New York based jazz guitarist and educator. He began his career in the 1990s working with Lou Donaldson's group and went on to work with Jimmy Cobb, Larry Goldings, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall and Lonnie Smith. Bernstein has also released dozens of albums as leader, working frequently with pianist Brad Mehldau. He teaches teaches jazz guitar at New York University (NYU) and the New School jazz program. Additionally, he has taught at the Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music, North Texas State University, and the Jazz Conservatory in Amsterdam.

Trivia

Peter Bernstein was part of the Blue Note 7, a septet formed in 2008 to honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. Peter Bernstein composed scores for several school plays while still in high school. Peter Bernstein plays a Zeidler archtop guitar almost exclusively.

Early Life

Peter Bernstein was born in New York in 1967. He started playing the piano at age 8 around age 13 picked up the guitar. Learning by ear, he initially played folk and Beatles songs, and then moved on to funk and rock, eventually making his way to jazz. In high school he began composing his own songs. Bernstein studied jazz at Rutgers University for a year before transferring to William Paterson University in New Jersey. He spent a few years living in Paris with his family and then returned to New York where enrolled in the New School's Jazz Program. While a student there, guitarist Jim Hall invited Bernstein to be part of the 1990 JVC Jazz Festival in New York, which quickly led to work with other musicians.