West Stockbridge — The SpiderCapo lets you capo and fine-tune each individual string on your guitar. And the reason you should care is that its inventor, Peter Einhorn, will appear at West Stockbridge’s Old Town Hall on Saturday, June 8. It is not just a chance to hear someone play a guitar that is perfectly in tune; it is a chance to hear the musicianship of a man obsessed with perfection. And when someone like that plays jazz, they tend to do so at a very high level.
The level of Mr. Einhorn’s playing has led to engagements with such luminaries as Ira Sullivan, Joe Lavono, Jimmy Cobb, Steve Swallow, John Abercrombie, Jim Hall, Steve Kuhn, Eddie Daniels, Roland Hanna, and others on the New York City jazz scene. He even played saz for Placido Domingo in a Metropolitan Opera production.
But if you are a student of jazz guitar, then you will have an additional motivation to see Mr. Einhorn on June 8, because Peter is a professional educator. Licensed to teach instrumental music in New York State at the K–12 level, he has taught guitar, improvisation, ensembles, and composition at the A.M.I. School in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia; the National Guitar Workshop; and Bard College. Guitar instruction site Jamplay.com has published Peter’s lesson series on Brazilian guitar, chord melody, and beginning guitar. He even teaches beginners how to use his outlandishly clever SpiderCapo device. Alfred Publishing put out Peter’s improvisational instruction books “Introducing the Dorian Mode” and “Introducing the Mixolydian Mode.”
Einhorn’s discography includes “Bouganvillea,” “Live at the Bistro,” “For Evan’s Sake,” and “Seems Like (new) Old Times,” with collaborators on these disks including tenor saxophonist George DeLeon, pianist Peter Tomlinson, drummer Jeff Siegel, bassist Lou Pappas, trumpeter Ira Sullivan, bassist David Einhorn, and many others.
Notwithstanding his formidable chops as a jazz guitarist, Einhorn’s work as a composer is one of the most interesting things he does. He has received a “Meet the Composer” grant, but perhaps his most significant accomplishments as a composer are his scores for over 30 documentary productions.
Here are a few of the most noteworthy:
- “Onto Rugged Shores: Voyage of LST 534” — History channel, PBS, original symphonic score
- “Tap” — Royal Carribean Lines, multimedia score for laser light and glass sculpture, currently on display in Helsinki, Finland
- “Reef Beyond Belief” — Produced Original Orchestral Score
- “Laser Lights in Las Vegas” — original orchestral score
- “As The World Turns” — CBS, various episodes
- “The Best In You” — Jingle for Big Brother and Big Sister International, funded by Burger King.
- “Beat the Street” — a five-part, federally funded dramatic documentary, awarded prize for “Best Documentary”
Peter Einhorn is a graduate of the University of Miami jazz guitar program and holds a masters degrees in music composition and mathematics.
Hear the Peter Einhorn Group at Old Town Hall on Saturday, June 8, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.
