John Penny © Andrea Canter

Like many teens of the 60s, young John Penny found outlets for his music in area jazz and rock bands. The son of a minister, John notes that “I'm certain that my lineage carries some preacher as expressed in my music making and performing.” He followed his first inclination by earning a degree in music at the University of Iowa where he received special permission as an undergrad to teach a course in Jazz History. In the mid-70s, Penny moved to Minneapolis where he played in the band Solstice with Bruce Henry and David Wright, ultimately leading to the band’s self-named recording in 1977. Early on, John worked with Jack McDuff, Benard Purdie, Bobby Lyle, Howard Levy, Rob Paparozzi, and Mike Turk; played in the group Kaminari with Eric Kamau Gravatt and Ron Evaniuk; and conducted clinics with New York trombonist Bill Watrous.

Gordy Johnson © Andrea Canter

No matter what the day job, music was always pushing for John’s attention. “Music is not a hobby for those of us in this place, it's an absolute obsession, driven by persistent forces. When a day gig or one of life's milestones commands a lot of your time and energy, one collapses music into a musical ‘safe mode’… [where] there is only writing and practicing - very few gigs.” And even when gigs were few and far between, Penny was composing. “It just continues to happen as a response to what I absorb in life. I am not sure that I would be writing as I do if I were playing gigs constantly for a living.” One of those compositions was the title tune for the movie, Patti Rocks, which John also recorded and edited. Other production highlights have included producing and composing (as well as performing) on the late Gene Adams’ A Lifetime of Jazz.

The kids are grown and the face of the tech industry has changed. Recently, outsourcing led to layoffs and John Penny found his music without the competition of a day job. And while he is spending some time working toward a master’s degree in Management Information Systems “to add fuel for more day gigs - the safety net,” finally John is able to give his own music highest priority. “I am doing much more musically since leaving the day gig and looking to the future as to when and what kind of turn to make into the pure music world.”

Greg Schutte © Andrea Canter

The addition of vocals seemed a natural evolution. “My scat singing was not like traditional jazz scat singing because the process I was attempting was more like adding a vocal string to my guitar. Nevertheless, my singing has grown out of that, but I still work at playing and singing in unison.” Singing helps Penny connect to his audience. “Audiences are extremely important because of how much they affect the music - than they may know. I like to tell people to come prepared to put their energy into the mix because it will be part of what they get back, along with what other participants put in.”

The ensemble name “Equatis” was Penny’s invention, the name he gave to a tune written nearly twenty years ago, a tune he planned as the title track to his first recording. “Equatis seemed to fit the longer type of expedition that the song goes through,” says John. “Equatis is a bridge of Euro, Hip Hop, and Jazz. I didn't record it until the mid 90s and the late Gene Adams and the late Bobby Peterson both played on the recording session for it… Having made recordings of my songs like this over the years with other musicians is why I need to release a CD as a historical work, a ‘best of’ compilation from the past, even though few have ever heard [the tunes].”

John Penny with Equatis at the 2005 Hot Summer Jazz Festival © Andrea Canter

John Penny’s earlier edition of Equatis (with Brian Gallagher, Mary Louise Knutson, Gordon Johnson, and Jay Epstein) performed at the 2005 Hot Summer Jazz Festival. His choices for the upcoming trio performance at the Artists Quarter (Gordon Johnson and Greg Schutte) “are top choices for bands I would put together, because of their talent, but not a regular band per se. The musicians of any jazz community of course rotate by availability… Gordy J. having played my stuff before and being a great player, and being available, was an obvious top choice for this one.”

Looking beyond the next club date, John is hoping to get years of compositions “into the public eye. Because of the build up of 3 to 4 CDs [worth] of original material over the years, the songs reflect history and may need to be packaged to reflect that. That is, the first couple of CDs may combine [my] compositional history with some current material. To most listeners, there will be no difference between my legacy material and the current material because of its nature.”

As he delves deeper into the life of a “full time” musician, does John Penny identify himself primarily as a performer or composer? “Whether I'm a playing composer or a composing player ultimately does not matter too much because it is one force that drives both - the inborn will to express the things one has a strong sense of…When I make the full jump at whatever age, I will certainly be both, or all three - the singing, composing, guitarist. With this, I may have finally found out how I am to do what I am to do when I grow up.”

John Penny and Equatis, featuring bassist Gordon Johnson and drummer Greg Schutte, perform Thursday, March 8^th at the Artists Quarter, 408 St. Peter Street in downtown St. Paul in the lower level of the Hamm Building. Visit www.artistsquarter.com