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Peter Lerner

Peter Lerner was born and raised in the multi-cultural, diverse Hyde Park area of Chicago. This is an area rich in musical history: Ahmad Jamal lived across the street and the AACM were only a few blocks away.

His earliest musical influence was his mother, Ruth, who played and sang folk songs for the civil rights movement. By the age of eight, he had composed his first song, and his musical journey began. Lerner credits Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana for inspiring him early on. In high school, Lerner fell in love with jazz after hearing Stanley Turrentine’s 'Sugar' on which guitarist George Benson played. Since then, Lerner began listening heavily to and learning from the great jazz masters and has continued to study jazz, composition and improvisation. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music, and has been working as a professional musician, composer and recording artist ever since.

It’s Lerner’s multi-faceted talent that makes him in demand: he’s known as “a musical chameleon (METROMIX),” masterful rhythm guitarist, capable of finding and laying down some serious grooves, as well as an expressively virtuosic soloist. Peter possesses a rare blend of technique and heartfelt emotion creating a style all his own. He has recorded numerous television shows and commercials, including the Oprah Winfrey Show. As a versatile guitarist, he performed with Gladys Knight, Funk icon Bootsy Collins, Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band, The Fifth Dimension, and blues harpist Sugar Blue among others. Peter has played on tracks featuring B.B. King, Patti LaBelle, and BB & CeCe Winans. His theater credits include Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (starring Donny Osmond), Randy Newman’s Faust, and Jesus Christ Superstar. As a composer, Peter scored a national top 10 hit on adult contemporary radio with his composition 'Midway Gardens'. He is also a faculty member at Columbia College of Chicago, where he has taught jazz guitar and improvisation since 1995, raising the next generation of musicians.

As a jazz guitarist, he has performed with such jazz luminaries as Ramsey Lewis and Lee Konitz among many other notable artists, performed at the South Shore Jazz Festival, Sarasota Jazz Festival, Downbeat Jazz Museum, featured at the Iridium, the Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, just to name a few. Lerner’s CD Cry for Peace on the Blujazz label, featuring a stellar lineup including Eric Alexander, Victor Lewis, Jim Rotondi, David Hazeltine, Jerry Dodgion, Steve Davis and Ed Howard, hit #25 in the national jazz album chart and has garnered critical acclaim. The recording was made at Van Gelder’s Studio, and the album was produced by Grammy Award winner, Don Sickler.

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Album Review

Peter Lerner: Continuation

Read "Continuation" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Nothing unflattering can be said about Chicago-born and -based guitarist Peter Lerner's latest album, Continuation. The energy level is high, the charts admirable, the supporting cast exemplary. On the other hand, it would be hard to separate the enterprise from a veritable sea of rivals that dwell in a comparable groove. As there is nothing explicit with which to censure this earnest studio session, neither is there anything special to set it apart from many others. It is simply a ...

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Album Review

Peter Lerner: Cry For Peace

Read "Cry For Peace" reviewed by John Barron


Sometimes an artist must leave his comfort zone to discover his true creative potential. Chicago guitarist Peter Lerner left his Windy City home and ventured east to record “Cry For Peace," a delightful session recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Recording Studio in New Jersey. Producer Don Sickler recruited a supporting cast of A-list New York sidemen, including trumpeter Jim Rotondi, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, trombonist Steve Davis and pianist/organist David Hazeltine, all members of the band One For All.

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Enter the "Peter Lerner - Continuation" Giveaway!

Enter the "Peter Lerner - Continuation" Giveaway!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Origin Records “Peter Lerner - Continuation“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on August 20th. Click here to enter the contest (Tracking Peter Lerner at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at Origin Records About Continuation Long-inspired to record with an early mentor, the great Chicago pianist Willie Pickens, guitarist Peter Lerner formed a quartet with ...

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