Home » Member Page
Vinny Valentino
Guitarist/Composer/Educator
About Me
Vinny Valentino
www.vinny.com
Guitarist Composer Vinny Valentino continues to redefine musical
genres, to the acclaim of audiences worldwide. His international
debut recording, The Distance Between Two Lines, shot straight up
the charts to #2 and stayed on the national charts for more than
14 weeks—an unprecedented achievement for a first international
release. Paul Anthony of Jazz Unlimited called it “one of the top
five albums of 1993.”
Vinny's 1996 international release, Now and Again, extended his
critical acclaim. George Benson refers to Vinny as a “young genius
with brilliant tone and fresh ideas.” Vintage Guitar Magazine
writes “wonderful jazz player with killer chops, wonderful
compositional skills…”(March 1997). “Valentino doesn't hide
behind reconstituted Wes Montgomery licks like so many guitarists
these days... crafty fingerings…. delectable originals” (Gavin
Jazz, May 10.1996). Ralph Mitchell of WFSK-FM raves, My goodness.
Talk about hot house jazz that CD is smoking!!”
Versatile is an understatement when describing guitarist and
composer, Vinny Valentino. Playing guitar since age six, this
native Virginian began touring in a progressive rock band while
still in high school. At age 16, influenced by the music of
George Benson, Vinny began pursuing Jazz as a career. He recalls,
The turning point for me was hearing George Benson in concert; I
had never heard anybody play like that. It was an eye-opening
experience.
Vinny earned his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at Howard
University. He began his musical studies at Northern Virginia
Community College and continued them at George Mason University
before concentrating on jazz at Howard. In 1988, he released his
first solo recording entitled, Vinny Valentino, and now has twelve
recordings to his credit.
Endorsements include D'Angelico guitars, D’Addario strings, Vox
Amps, Cakewalk Music Software, Zoom, Samson, Digitech, ADK
Microphones and TKL Cases. Vinny has shared the stage the studio
with Steve Smith, Tom Coster, Russell Ferrante, Tom Scott, Gary
Bartz, Victor Bailey, John Benitez, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl,
John Pattitucci, Randy Brecker, George Benson, Steve Gadd, Chick
Corea, Dennis Chambers, Bill Evans and Jimmy McGriff. .
Vinny appeared with his band as the feature performers on BET’s
jazz cable program, “Bet on Jazz.” This one-hour feature
program became one of the top five requested programs on “Bet on
Jazz”. One of the first musicians to perform live on the World
Wide Web, Vinny continues to pioneer on the Internet with online
clinics, performances and lessons at http://www.vinny.com.
Vinny’s compositions have been recorded by Vital Information, John
Benitez, George Benson, Sunny Sumter and Steve Haas and are
featured in the “All Jazz Real Book.” The National Endowment for
the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts have recognized
Vinny’s talents as composer, arranger, and recording artist with a
grant for a series of works entitled New Music for Three
Guitars.
Vinny and his trio On 3 (www.on3music.com) were selected by the
Kennedy Center and the Department of State to represent the United
States in the U.S. Jazz Ambassadors Program. He and the trio,
featuring bassist John Benitez and percussionist Gilad, toured 7
countries (Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago,
Colombia, and Brazil) in South America for six weeks playing
concerts and giving music master classes. “Vinny and the group
provided an eclectic combination of new rhythms and sound mixed
with old Ellington Classics that, by the end of the evening, had
the entire audience clapping along in admiration and
accompaniment.” (AMERICAN EMBASSY MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY) “The
extremely talented and eminently likeable On 3 gave new meaning to
jazz in Ecuador.” Vinny is constantly working intensively on his
own new sounds, new compositions and new recordings. His CD,
“Color Funk” brings the organ trio into the 21st century,
combining pop, hip hop, and rock elements in a classic jazz
setting. “My favorite musicians have always been the cats that
never look back. You can pick them out of any recording by the
sound of a few notes. Innovation is the key to original
creativity.
A significant part of this innovation is Vinny’s new Play Along
Jazz website (www.playalongjazz.com) where aspiring musicians can
download various jazz standards minus the track for the instrument
they play. Only in this environment can one experience playing
with world-class artists as if they were actually sharing the
stage, learning to groove and improvise, to converse with other
musicians, to add their musical voice to the whole.
www.playalongjazz.com is the necessary next step in any musician’s
development. The Play Along Jazz site is growing to include not
only additional jazz standards for the student musician but also
original works from Vinny Valentino and soon from a host of other
artists. These recordings will offer fans and students alike the
chance to play along with many genres of music from their favorite
musicians. Vinny’s latest CD --a collaborative work with Vital
Information’s bassist, Baron Browne, which also features VI’s Tom
Coster and drummer Joel Rosenblatt formerly with Spyro Gyra, Bill
Evans, Michel Camillo, to name just a few-- combines head-bopping
funk with the soul of jazz improvisation and grooving. This CD,
Double B Double V, is also available on www.playalongjazz.com as
both complete tracks and as music-minus-one. The site is becoming
a place for not only the student musician but for all of us who
love good music from many of today’s finest players. Stay tuned.
One of Vinny’s more recent projects is as arranger, co-composer
and musical director for the legendary Mark Murphy’s
(www.markmurphy.com) new album entitled, “Slidin“.
Since 2006 Vinny has been the guitarist for the long-standing
fusion group, Vital Information, which boasts legendary drummer
Steve Smith as its founder and leader. This all-star band includes
Baron Browne on bass (the “Double B” guy on the CD) and Tom Coster
on keyboards. In 2012 Vital Information put out a live CD entitled
“One Great Night,” that shows off Vinny’s compositional skills as
well as a player.
This summer will see the release of Vinny’s 12th CD as leader
entitled “Dial It In”. This CD features Chris Tarry on bass and
Ian Froman on drums. The CD shows Vinny’s range as both guitarist
and composer: whether it’s straight ahead jazz in this trio
environment or funky R&B, both genres benefit from Vinny’s touch,
refined sense of swing and rhythm and memorable melodies.
All My Voices Music 1030 Arlington Road, New Milford, NJ 07646
(201) 951-8550 [email protected] www.vinny.com