Jay Berliner

Jay Berliner (born May 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist.

Berliner had his first television experience at age seven on NBC’s The Children's Hour, with his sister Eve.

Berliner was the guitarist for Harry Belafonte in the early to mid-1960s, appearing on many of Belafonte's recordings and playing in venues around the world.

He has also played at the Metropolitan Opera house (the “old” Metropolitan Opera House in midtown Manhattan), where he was house guitarist and mandolinist; toured Japan as a banjo soloist; performances at The White House; and more recently, played onstage at the Metropolitan Opera (in the “new” house at Lincoln Center) with Barbara Cook, Audra McDonald, Josh Groban, and Elaine Strich, recorded live on DRG Records, Inc.

Recordings under his own name include Bananas Are Not Created Equal, Romantic Guitars, Erotic Guitars, three classical albums for Nippon-Columbia, and three classical albums for Spanish Music Center Records. Berliner also can be heard on Romantic Sea of Tranquility under the pseudonym "Chris Valentino."

Berliner began playing as a studio musician in the early 1960s. Since then he has logged more than 13,000 recording sessions for records, commercials, films, etc. He has played on albums by Charles Mingus (including The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady) and Ron Carter, George Benson’s White Rabbit, Stephane Grappeli’s Uptown Dance, Deodato’s Also Sprach Zarathustra, Milt Jackson’s Sunflower, and many other Creed Taylor recordings. Berliner has recorded with numerous singers including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Jerry Vale, Astrud Gilberto, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sergio Franchi, Rupert Holmes, Frankie Valli, Debby Boone, Andrea Bocelli, Russell Watson, Harry Connick, Jr., Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Blossom Dearie, and LaTanya Hall.

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