Born on June 20, 1964, and playing guitar since age six, native Virginian Vinny Valentino is the newest member of Vital Information. Vinny 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 and his mentor George have since developed a close friendship.

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 five recordings to his credit. Endorsements include Yamaha Guitars and Guitar Synthesizer, Ampeg amps, D'Addario strings, Digitech Effects, Cakewalk Music Software, and Bag End speakers.

Vinny has shared the stage or recording studio with such jazz greats as Tom Scott, Gary Bartz, Jeff Andrews, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, John Benitez, John Pattitucci, Richard Bona, Bob Moses, George Benson, Keter Betts, Victor Bailey, Steve Gadd, Dennis Chambers, Patrice Rushen, Charlie Byrd, Buck Hill, and Jimmy McGriff. In 2004 Vinny filled in for Frank Gambale on a four week Vital Information tour of Europe.

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 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."

Based in New York City, Vinny tours extensively, playing concerts, festivals, and club engagements around the world. Currently in addition to performing with his own bands Vinny is performing with Bill Evans as well as Steve Smith and Vital Information. Vinny and his trio 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 sounds 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 Vinny Valentino Trio gave new meaning to jazz in Ecuador." Vinny is constantly working intensively on his own new sounds, new compositions and new recordings. Keep posted to http://www.vinny.com for the latest on Vinny and his music.

His recording, Color Funk, brings the organ trio into the 21^st 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."

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!!"

Keep posted to www.vinny.com for the latest on Vinny Valentino and his music.

1993     Vinny Valentino & Here No Evil The Distance Between Two Lines
1996     Vinny Valentino & Here No Evil Now and Again
1997     Vinny Valentino Live at the Café Japone
1998     Vinny Valentino and Steve Rudolph Rudolph Valentino
2000     Vinny Valentino and On 3 Center Place
2005     Vinny Valentino and Color Funk Color Funk
2006     Vinny Valentino She Said
2006     On 3 Guess What
1996     Grainger Phase I (Gary and Greg Grainger)
1997     Al Williams and Friends Never Too Late
1998     Dan Reynolds To Be Sure
1995     Melvin and The Have Knots (featuring Larry King) Save The Rain
                   Forrest
1997     Imani and First Prayer Collage
2001     Tony Lujan You Don’t Know What Love Is (featuring David Sanchez)
2001     Sunny Sumpter Rite of Pasage (produced and played on)
2004     Sunny Sumpter Freedom
2002     Christos Rafalides Manhatan Vibes (featuring Randy Brecker)
2002     Marshall Keys Times Aligned (featuring Dennis Chambers)
2004     Frank Bray So Far (produced and played on)
2001     Larry Edoff Boa (produced and played on)
2003     Larry Edoff In Subtle Tunes (produced and played on)

"Valentino does it all. He's modern and eclectic, but also distinctive and well-rooted." Christopher Henson, The Roanoke Times.

"Valentino rips impressively alongside the healthy discipline of his four-piece ensemble - and never at the expense of them- to the delight of the listener, the material, Valentino's vision and his band are rarely out of sync." The Gavin Report

"Valentino doesn't hide behind reconstituted Wes Montgomery licks like so many guitarists these days...(his are) crafty fingerings...delectable originals." Gavin Jazz

"The music shows Vinny's depth and abilities as a jazz guitarist that is well acquainted with all aspects of the genre." The Mac Report

"For world-class jazz, go see and hear Vinny Valentino - you will feel that you have discovered something very important-" Cliff Johns, Old Town Crier

"Delafield Place" takes advantage of Vinny Valentino's fluid mastery of jazz guitar to help create a performance that moves elegantly between sparkling acoustic and electric balladry. Mike Joyce, The Washington Post

For more biographical and recording info, visit Vinny's Web site.