University of Memphis Jazz Guitar Series Features Peter Bernstein on March 23

For release, March 20, 2012
For press information, contact Carol Morse (901) 678-2279

The University of Memphis Jazz Guitar Series will feature Peter Bernstein, one of the most in-demand jazz guitarists of the past two decades, at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 pm. General Admission is $30. Discounts apply for U of M faculty and students.Tickets are available online at the Germantown Performing Arts Center or by calling the box office at (901) 751-7500.  

Bernstein is unique among his peers in that he plays only one guitar, eschews effects pedals and other sonic equipment, and aligns himself with a jazz guitar tradition rooted in the 1950s and 1960s. Bernstein is known to look beyond the guitar for inspiration, which he attributes in part to studying with guitarist Ted Dunbar at Rutgers University in the 1980s.

"He was the one who told me [to] learn about harmony [by hanging out] with piano players and arrangers," Bernstein said in a 2009 interview with Eric Fine for JazzTimes. "And if you want to learn about phrasing, hang out with horn players and good singers. And if you want to learn about rhythm, hang out with drummers and bass players. Don't be a guitar player that hangs around other guitar players."

In addition to Dunbar, Bernstein studied with Kenny Barron and completed his degree at The New School in New York City, where he met and studied with Jim Hall, one of his mentors and great influences. 
Bernstein's discography is voluminous, starting with the 1990 concert album Jim Hall and Friends Live at Town Hall. He has played with Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Cobb and Dr. Lonnie Smith as well as Larry Goldings, Eric Alexander and Joshua Redman. In 2008, Bernstein became part of The Blue Note 7, a septet formed in honor of Blue Note Records' 70th anniversary.