Minneapolis guitarist, composer, and singer John Penny brings his Virtual Band, AND his Guitar Trio to The High Hat for a unique night of music. Both of Penny’s projects aim to deliver inspiration with original World Jazz and American Roots music. The virtual Band calls on Penny’s background in scoring music for film. From decades of composing Jazz and music for mixed media, the backing tracks come ornamented with exotic accompaniments that interact with Penny’s live guitar and voice. For the Trio, Penny is joined by bassist Charlie Riddle and drummer Mo Engel. The trio comes with a highly interactive chemistry that makes for engaged listening as the three veteran players let emotions loose.

Penny has performed thousands of gigs including as a band member and in concert with Jazz greats Eric Gravatt, Bobby Lyle, Bernard Purdie, Jack MacDuff, and others. His guitar explorations introduce a distinctly emotive style, fused from the teachings of John Coltrane, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Chick Corea, and great violin concertos. His vocal serenades in the tenor register are reminiscent of Jazz singer Jon Hendricks. Songs performed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese resonate with Folk cultures from Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Penny is an award winning orchestral composer, veteran Jazz guitarist, and singer with a playful fondness for translating human emotion into soundscape and song. www.johnpennymusic.com