Peter John Leitch (born August 19, 1944) is a Canadian

jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist ( rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ...

Career

Leitch started playing guitar in his teens. He accompanied many different acts at nightclubs in Montreal. He recorded with

Sadik Hakim Sadik Hakim (born Forrest Argonne Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Forrest Argonne Thornton was born on July 15, 1919 in Duluth, Minnesota. The name Argonne came from the World War ...

in the early 1970s. During the late 1970s, he worked in Toronto with

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

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, and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

and went on tour with

Fraser MacPherson John Fraser MacPherson CM (10 April 1928 – 27 September 1993) was a Canadian jazz musician from Saint Boniface, Manitoba. MacPherson moved to Victoria, British Columbia, as a child. He learned piano, clarinet, and alto and tenor saxophones ...

in the Soviet Union. He was also a member of the

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

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quintet. In the early 1980s he moved to New York City, where he played with

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

Ray Drummond Ray Drummond (born November 23, 1946 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He can be heard on hundreds of albums and co- ...

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Kirk Lightsey Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born February 15, 1937, Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz pianist. Biography Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lights ...

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, and Smitty Smith. He recorded with

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

Jeri Brown Jeri Brown (born 1952 in Missouri) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and professor. Life and work Jeri Brown grew up in St. Louis, where she first appeared in public at age six. In Iowa, she studied classical singing, and later appeare ...

Dominique Eade Dominique Frances Eade (June 16, 1958) is an American jazz singer and composer. She has taught at the New England Conservatory. Career She attended Vassar College and the Berklee College of Music before finishing her degree at New England Conse ...

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, and Pete Yellin. He released his first solo album in 1981. He has worked as a journalist, photographer, and teacher. In 2013, he published an autobiography "Off the Books: A Jazz Life." Leitch announced his retirement on July 21, 2015, on Facebook. "Due to a series of medical issues it is extremely unlikely that I will ever play the guitar again. I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to all those people who have enjoyed, bought, listened to, stolen (lol) or otherwise picked up on the music. The recordings (most of them) are still out there and available. I would also like to thank, of course, those great musicians who collaborated in the making of this music. The music on Sunday nights at Walkers is, for the time being, under the direction of bassist Sean Smith, with the exception of July 26 (bassist Harvie S)." However, since he was no longer able to play the guitar, he began arranging and composing music for a 12–14 piece ensemble. The Peter Leitch New Life Orchestra debuted at Club 75, the Bogardus Mansion, in New York City's fashionable TriBeCa district, November 30, 2018, and at this writing has a series of upcoming engagements at this location.

Discography

As leader

* ''Jump Street'' (

Pausa In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pausis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in cer ...

, 1982) * ''Sometime in Another Life'' with George McFetridge (Jazz House, 1982) * ''Exhilaration'' (Uptown, 1985) * ''Red Zone'' (

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, 1987) * ''On a Misty Night'' ( Criss Cross, 1987) * ''Portraits and Dedications'' (Criss Cross, 1989) * ''Mean What You Say'' (Concord Jazz, 1990) * ''Trio/Quartet '91'' (Concord Jazz, 1991) * ''From Another Perspective'' (Concord Jazz, 1993) * ''A Special Rapport'' (Reservoir, 1993) * ''

Duality Duality may refer to: Mathematics * Duality (mathematics), a mathematical concept ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality ** Duality (optimization) ** Duality (order theory), a concept regarding binary relations ** Dual ...

'' with

(Reservoir, 1994) * ''Colours & Dimensions'' (Reservoir, 1995) * ''At First Sight'' with Heiner Franz (Jardis, 1996) * ''Up Front'' (Reservoir, 1997) * ''Blues on the Corner'' (Reservoir, 1999) * ''Autobiography'' (Reservoir, 2004) * ''Self Portrait'' (Jazz House, 2007) * ''California Concert'' (Jazz House, 2013) * ''Landscape'' (Jazz House, 2014)

As sideman

, ''The Montreal Concert'' (DSM, 2001) *

, ''Unfolding the Peacocks'' ( Justin Time, 1992) *

, ''Phantasies II'' (Soul Note, 1991) * Jaki Byard, ''My Mother's Eyes'' (M&I, 2000) *

, ''When the Wind Was Cool'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1997) *

, ''O.D. (Out 'Dere)'' (Greyforrest 1980) *

, ''Sadik Hakim'' (Radio Canada International, 1973) *

Chris McNulty Chris McNulty (born 1953) is Australian-born jazz Singing, vocalist. Career McNulty began her professional career singing in pop bands in hotels and clubs in and around Melbourne, Australia. She toured Australia and SE Asia as a member of all t ...

, ''Time for Love'' (Amosaya, 1996) *

, ''The Personal Touch'' (Pablo, 1980) * Renee Rosnes, Neil Swainson, Ralph Bowen, Terry Clarke, ''Free Trade'' (Justin Time, 1994) *

, ''Solid'' (Muse, 1987) * Pete Yellin, ''Mellow Soul'' (Metropolitan, 1998) * Pete Yellin, ''How Long Has This Been Going On?'' (Jazzed Media, 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leitch, Peter Canadian jazz guitarists Canadian male guitarists 1944 births Living people Criss Cross Jazz artists Canadian male jazz musicians Reservoir Records artists