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Peter Lerner

Chicago-born guitarist, composer and educator

About Me

Lerner was born and raised in the multi-cultural, diverse Hyde Park area of Chicago. 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. Lerner has been working as a professional musician, composer and recording artist since graduating from Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music. It’s Lerner’s multi-faceted talent that makes him in demand. Chicago's Metromix calls Lerner “a musical chameleon.” 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 & Cee Cee Wynan. 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 Ramsey Lewis, Lee Konitz and Willie Pickens among many artists, performed at numerous venues. 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. Lerner’s newest CD “Continuation” on Origin Records includes his latest compositions and Chicago musicians of the highest caliber: Willie Pickens on piano, Marlene Rosenberg on bass, Charles Heath on drums, Geof Bradfield on reeds, Victor Garcia on flugelhorn, Andy Baker on trombone, Joe Rendon on percussion, and Peter Lerner on guitar. Robert Irving III, who collaborated with Miles Davis for nine years, produced the project.