PETER LEITCH (guitar, composer) was born August 19, 1944 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, but he was just an infant when his family settled in Montreal where he grew up. He has led and continues to lead bands ranging from septets to sextets, quintets, quartets, and duos, and performed as a soloist and/or sideman as a member of the same variety of groups.

He began playing guitar as a teenager in Montreal, continuing to play jazz, record, and work in dance bands in Quebec until 1977 when he relocated to Toronto to play in groups led by Phil Nimmons and Jim Galloway, and in smaller groups with pianist George McFetridge.

Leitch moved to New York in 1983, and in addition to leading his own groups in club performances throughout the area, surfaced as a talented sideman working with names including Pepper Adams and Bennie Wallace. He also carried on the rigorous touring activities he had begun while still living in Canada (when he toured throughout the U.S. with trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, and the USSR with Fraser MacPherson), expanding his North American touring schedule and appearing throughout Europe. Still living and working in NYC, Peter Leitch continues to appear in Canada frequently, working with some of the country’s best-known jazz artists.

Awards:

1981 - Juno Award Nominee (Jump Street - JH 7001)

1982 - Juno Award Nominee (Sometime in Another Life - JH 7002)

1994 - Juno Award Winner (for cooperative group Free Trade)

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