Leni Stern (born 28 April 1952) is a German jazz guitarist and singer.^[1]

Stern was born Magdalena Thora, in Germany on 28 April 1952.^[1] She was interested in music from an early age, beginning piano studies at the age of six and taking on the guitar a few years later.^[1] She was an actress in Germany, including appearing on television, then enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in 1977.^[1] She lived in Boston until 1980, then moved to New York.^[1]

In 1983, she formed a band of her own with Paul Motian on drums and Bill Frisell on guitar.^[2] Vocals became a more important part of her music from the 1997 release of Black Guitar.^[1] She is married to guitarist Mike Stern.^[2]

• Clairvoyant (Passport Jazz, 1986)
• The Next Day (Passport Jazz, 1987)
• Secrets (Enja, 1989)
• Closer to the Light (Enja, 1990)
• Ten Songs (Lipstick, 1992)
• Like One (Lipstick, 1993)
• Words (Lipstick, 1995)
• Black Guitar (1997)
• Kindness of Strangers (Leni Stern, 2000)
• Finally the Rain Has Come (Leni Stern, 2002)
• When Evening Falls (Leni Stern, 2004)
• Love Comes Quietly (Leni Stern, 2006)
• Africa (Leni Stern, 2007)
• Alu Mayé (Have You Heard) (Leni Stern, 2007)
• Sa Belle Belle Ba (Leni Stern, 2010)
• Sabani (Leni Stern, 2012)
• Smoke, No Fire (Leni Stern, 2012)
• Jellel (Leni Stern, 2013)
• Dakar Suite (Leni Stern, 2016)
• 3 (Leni Stern, 2018)
• 4 (Leni Stern, 2020)^[3]