Johnny A.

Lots of folks throw around the phrase “let the music do the talking,” but only a few have the fortitude to really do it, to just go out there and play, shunning flash, shrugging off image and reeling in the listener on the strength of the songs alone.

Johnny A. is that kind of performer. For the better part of three decades, the Massachusetts-based jazz guitarist and bandleader has proven himself capable of generating heat at venues from working-class bars to international amphitheaters, and every sort of venue in between.

And when the house lights are turned up, he’s just as adept at captivating serious students of the six-string with a virtuosity that earned him the rare honor of having his name placed on a signature Gibson guitar.