All-State Jazz Choir

It wouldn’t necessarily be inaccurate to refer to Peter Eldridge as a “singer-songwriter,” but that tag definitely does not fit him. Such a label just undercuts the creative brilliance behind his music, diminishing the beauty, truth, strength, wit, and compassion in his work. The man is far more than a simple spinner of songs. His is the true voice of understanding, speaking on its own terms while also capturing and expressing the emotions that we all feel. If ever there was a singular artist capable of showing us the singularity in ourselves, it’s Peter Eldridge.    ALL ABOUT JAZZ

For years Peter Eldridge has remained at the forefront of both the singer-songwriter and jazz realms as a vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger. He has five critically acclaimed album under his belt: Fool No More, Stranger in Town, Decorum, Mad Heaven and Disappearing Day, which was released in July 2016 on Sunnyside Records and called “an out and out masterpiece” by allaboutjazz. Disappearing Day made many ‘best of the year’ lists, including Downbeat, Jazziz, and NPR. Most recently Peter and iconic jazz pianist and composer Kenny Werner joined forces on Somewhere, a collection of lush ballads for voice, string orchestra and jazz trio. The album, a combination of original compositions and timeless classics has garnered rave reviews thus far and plans are in the works to tour the project.  Peter composed the score for the musical The Woman in Question, co-written with playwright/lyricist Cheryl Coons, which unravels the mystery behind The Kiss, a sensual painting by Gustav Klimt.  Peter’s quartet featuring Ulysses Owens on drums, Jesse Lewis on guitar and Matt Aronoff, bass; and Foolish Hearts, where Peter and Matt perform originals and standards in an intimate duo setting. The duo released its own studio EP a few years ago entitled New Definition.

Eldridge is also a founding member of internationally acclaimed vocal group, New York Voices. The group continues to tour internationally and has performed in some of the world’s most preeminent venues and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Kennedy Center. NYV has been involved in two Grammy-award winning projects with Paquito D’Rivera and the Count Basie Orchestra. New York Voices completed two new collaborative albums, the recently-released ‘Meeting of Minds’ with the Bob Mintzer Big Band, and the other with legendary Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins and the Danish Radio Big Band. New York Voices just released its first studio album in a decade (under its own name) entitled Reminiscing in Tempo.

On the more contemporary side, Peter is also a member of the vocal group MOSS, alongside Kate McGarry, Theo Bleckmann, Lauren Kinhan and Luciana Souza (and now vocalist Jo Lawry). Some of Peter’s notable collaborations include Bobby McFerrin, Fred Hersch, Becca Stevens, Chanticleer, George Benson, Michael Brecker, David Byrne, Jonatha Brooke, Kurt Elling, the New West Guitar Trio, Jane Monheit, the Swingles, Anat Cohen, Betty Buckley, Karrin Allison, Janis Siegel, Paula Cole, Jon Hendricks, and Mark Murphy. Peter’s music is featured in Zach Galifianakis’ recorded stand-up performance ‘Live at the Purple Onion’, and his original songs or collaborations have been covered by artists such as Nancy Wilson, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jane Monheit. Peter was commissioned by the Boston choral group Coro Allegro to write a piece for its 25th anniversary (‘to be nobody’, text by e e cummings). In addition, Peter was head of the Manhattan School of Music’s jazz voice department for eighteen years and is now Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is regularly in demand for workshops and masterclasses both domestically and internationally, in topics ranging from song interpretation to vocal technique to songwriting and arranging and improvisation.