Randy Bernsen, born on July 15, 1954, in Needham, Massachusetts, is an American jazz guitarist. He began performing in South Florida clubs at age 17 and studied at the University of Miami. Bernsen's debut album, Music for Planets, People & Washing Machines (1984), featured notable artists like Urszula Dudziak, Bob James, Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, and Peter Erskine. He signed with Zebra Records for his next album, Mo' Wasabi (1986), collaborating with Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Marcus Miller, Steve Gadd, and Toots Thielemans. Bernsen toured extensively throughout the 1990s and contributed to Joe Zawinul's album Lost Tribes (1992). In 2003, he recorded and edited the tribute album, Word of Mouth Revisited, with the Peter Graves Orchestra in honor of Jaco Pastorius. Randy Bernsen also released several albums, including Grace Notes (2015), Heart, Mind and Soul (2023), and the singles "Joy to the World" and "Gifts of the Spirit", both of which were self-released in 2024.
