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“If you like swinging, smartly chosen songs and accomplished improvising with lots of soul and personality, then Bernstein’s range of quartet albums, from 1992’s SOMETHIN’s BURNIN’ to his latest album, LET LOOSE, deliver deeply and consistently.”
— Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen, 10 May 2016
“When it comes to guitarists of his generation, Peter Bernstein stands head and shoulders above the crowd. His tone and melodic approach are so recognizable as to be detected in a just a few bars…His debut for Smoke Sessions, LET LOOSE seems to distill all his experiences and expertise into a package as fine as a well-aged Bordeaux.”
C. Andrew Hovan, All About Jazz, 15 May 2016
“On LET LOOSE [Bernstein] slips seamlessly into the role of leader. It is a balanced, polished, erudite guitar recital that was made in one day.”
— Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, 25 April 2019 (updated)
Guitarist Peter Bernstein is justly renowned as an interpreter of other people’s music. His unerring, relaxed swing, his stunning gift for crafting and developing sophisticated melodies, the un-showy but absorbing narrative arc of his solos, the just plain rightness of his in-the-moment choices – all of these account for his well-established status as one of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene.
Guitarist Peter Bernstein’s LET LOOSE, his debut release for Smoke Sessions Records, shifts the focus to Bernstein the composer. Five of the album’s nine tracks stem from the guitarist’s pen. It also features a quartet of artists who are equally well versed in tradition and innovation, who can breathe ecstatic life into these pieces while simultaneously anchoring them with deep roots. Bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart are longtime collaborators stretching back nearly three decades. Gerald Clayton is the newcomer but brings along a reputation as one of the most respected pianists of his generation.
The spirit of the session is pithily captured in the title of the album: LET LOOSE, a case of simplicity masking complexity. The surface meaning suggests an unbridling of passion, an opening of the floodgates of expression that definitely characterizes the playing of all four members of the quartet. But there’s also the suggestion of the need to allow oneself to be loose, free, open to whatever may come – a guiding principle on the stage as well as off.
credits
released May 6, 2016
Peter Bernstein – guitar
Gerald Clayton – piano
Doug Weiss – bass
Bill Stewart – drums
Recorded Live January 3, 2016
at Sear Sound, Studio A, New York City
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Produced by Paul Stache
Associate Producer: Damon Smith
Recorded by Chris Allen
Studio Assistant: Richie Kennon
Mixed by Roman Klun & Paul Stache
Mastered by Roman Klun
Liner Notes by Shaun Brady
Photography by John Abbott
Design by Damon Smith & Paul Stache
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
