Peter Bernstein Quartet

Peter Bernstein, born in New York in 1967, is a guitarist who bridges the gap between jazz tradition and modernism. In 1990, his fellow instrumentalist Jim Hall invited the young jazz guitar student to join him on stage for a concert at the renowned JVC Jazz Festival in New York. Since then, Bernstein has appeared on around 300 albums as a guitarist, 14 of which he has released under his own name. As the leader of his own bands as well as a guest of musicians such as Lou Donaldson, Brad Mehldau, and Diana Krall, he has performed on many club, concert, and festival stages worldwide.

For some time now, his quartet—featuring pianist Sullivan Fortner, among others—has been at the center of his creative work. In their approach to modern jazz, this quartet focuses on a laid-back, straight-ahead swing; the themes of the pieces serve as the foundation for an art of improvisation that is both eloquently phrased and imaginative. The interplay of the rhythm section sounds so harmonious and tight precisely to let the leader’s crystalline sound on the archtop jazz guitar shine and to provide an adequate foundation for his single-note lines.