Peggy Stern is as well-known as a composer as she is known for her fine piano playing. She arrived at jazz via classical music, R&B, and salsa. Her music has a particularly broad ethnic base — in addition to European and American classical music, Peggy’s music draws from Brazilian, African, Jewish, Irish, Cuban, and traditional jazz influences. Eclectic indeed! Peggy has composed, played, recorded, and toured in a wide variety of situations: from solos to octets to jazz choruses. Her compositions range from highly original pieces to reharmonized jazz standards.
Peggy has toured throughout Europe, the US, Canada, and Japan. She recently returned from successful first tour of Australia, having played the Manly Jazz Festival, the Basement (Sydney), Bennett’s Lane (Melbourne), and several other venues. In addition, Peggy has worked as an educator for the past 20 years, at colleges in the US. She has given workshops throughout Europe (Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy), and the US.
A few years ago, Peggy became interested in jazz chorus. Having been raised singing in choirs, she began writing for vocal groups, both standards and originals. One of her compositions. “Lunasea” is featured on Brazilian Rhapsody with Lee Konitz.