Paul Silbergleit is a Milwaukee-based jazz guitarist, composer, educator, and author. Straight-ahead in style, he bears the influence of figures such as Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, and Kenny Burrell.
Paul has performed with a wide array of jazz luminaries such as Melvin Rhyne, Phil Woods, Benny Golson, Tierney Sutton, Jon Faddis, Richie Cole, Brian Lynch, David Hazeltine, and Jack McDuff, to name just a few. A member of area jazz supergroup We Six, he has also worked with notable institutions like the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. His critically acclaimed albums, from the 1996 debut CD Silberglicity through the recently released January (with the stellar My New Attitude in between), have climbed onto the jazz airwaves and charts.
In addition to his performance career, Paul is an active and experienced teacher and clinician, and the author or co-author of numerous widely-distributed instructional materials. He has taught at Cardinal Stritch University (Milwaukee) and was a longtime faculty member at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, as part of the celebrated jazz program that made its home there until 2019. His teaching experience ranges from elementary to Elderhostel, including private lessons in guitar and improvisation, ensemble coaching, and jazz history/appreciation. Following his contributions to Hal Leonard’s Guitar Lessons Goldmine book series as well as their Guitar Licks Goldmine DVDs, the publisher released his monumental 25 Great Jazz Guitar Solos in late 2015.
Born in Milwaukee, but growing up mostly in Fargo, North Dakota, he became exposed to jazz when a junior high band director set him for lessons with the late Dr. James F. Condell, a psychology professor and well-studied guitarist who did not have current pop music on the agenda.
Paul continued his studies at Oberlin College in Ohio, with excellent mentors such as the late Dr. Wendell Logan, guitarist Bob Ferrazza, and trumpeter Kenny Davis. Living in Milwaukee since graduation, he enjoyed the close-by influence of veteran players like saxophonist Berkeley Fudge, guitarist Manty Ellis, and the late great organist Melvin Rhyne, while coming into his own as a jazz artist and significant figure on the scene himself.