Cologne Jazzweek: Peter Bernstein Quartet

Peter Bernstein, born in New York in 1967, is a guitarist who bridges the gap between jazz tradition and modernity. 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 approximately 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 the focus of his work. This quartet’s modern jazz style features a laid-back, straight-ahead swing, with the themes of the pieces serving as the foundation for an eloquently phrased, inventive art of improvisation. 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.