Harpin' Jonny at The Cat in The Cruz

• For most people, the clean, sharp howling of the harp calls forth rustic porchfront blues like a whistle calls forth a train; the two go hand-in-hand and there ain’t no separation. Don’t tell that to Jonny Troutner. Better known as Harpin’ Jonny , he knows there’s more to the harmonica than simply the blues, and he’s been out proving it for nearly two decades. “There isn’t any song that I can’t play on the harmonica,” he states. “I don’t see it being limited to any certain type of music and I don’t think it should be summed up as just a blues instrument.” Blowing through those minuscule metal windows on Bay Area stages since ’92, he wasn’t initially struck or confined by those stereotypical blues harmonica riffs. Instead, it was Norton Buffalo , Toots Thielemans and Charlie Musselwhite who guided him to wail through an array of bluegrass, rock, country, and jazz, in addition to the blues. “I like to embellish a song by creating melody or answers to the song, and even add percussion through the harmonica.Being able to make something interesting out of nothing is what I like to do.” And he’s been doing it ever since the age of 7. Currently alongside The Primadons, The Groovehounds and The Larry Hosford Band , not to mention studio stints for various collaborations, he’s become a Santa Cruz staple who’s even sat in with Robert Earl Keen and Paul Thorn . “Now I play so much that sometimes I’d rather hide and listen,” he admits with a laugh. Still, despite three bands and a solo album in the works, he also knows when to quit. Whereas some musicians’ nerves can flutter in fear that a harpist will drill through a tune with no restraint, Troutner understands that silence can be golden. “Most of the time, people overplay when they play the harmonica,” he admits of his breed’s reputation. “You gotta learn how to listen and play in the right places. Then people will know they can trust you to go in and not wreck the song.” Needless to say, we trust you, Jonny.

• This is Wholesome harp! Uncooked and real. You've heard the club sound, the soulful licks of some of the greats jump, swing and gospel tunes, but when's the last time you've heard traditions in its purest form? Imagine sittin' in on the first performances of Charlie McCoy, Jon Gindick, or Norton Buffalo you'd know they were gonna be stars. Well, if you didn't get the chance to hear these guys coming up, you don't want to miss Harpin' Jonny. You'll be able to say, "Yeah, I remember when..." Homegrown and wholesome come hear him. " Harpin' Around."

Jon Troutner, aka Harpin’ Jonny, is on a mission: to show that there’s more to playing the harmonica than the blues.

He can rock the blues, but like a small handful of players of the instrument (think the late Toots Thielemans, Blues Traveler frontman John Popper and Flecktones co-founder Howard Levy), Troutner seeks to expand the instrument’s possibilities far beyond the 12-bar tunes.

“I don’t see harmonica as being limited to any type of music,” Troutner says, “and I don’t think it is just a blues instrument. You can play any song on the harmonica.”

His current release, Harpster, proves the point, offering a sensitive reading of the Great American Songbook standard Over The Rainbow. Not exactly a blues tune.

Troutner lists Norton Buffalo as his harmonica hero. Buffalo’s name should be household. Yet it is hardly so, despite a three-decade stint in Steve Miller’s band. His solo on Bonnie Raitt’s 1977 retake of Del Shannon’s classic hit “Runaway” put him on the harp player’s map. In it, he deftly switches between four different harps in order to accommodate the song’s four -hord changes during the classic main verse.

Many blues harpists drill through tunes with little restraint, but Troutner understands that silence can be golden.

“Most harmonica players overplay,” Troutner says. “You’ve gotta learn to listen and play in the right places. Then people will know they can trust you to go in and not wreck the song.”

Not only does he not wreck songs, his tasteful, highly melodic licks are well-timed to embellish the tune’s structure.

Given his range – and patience – Troutner feels increasingly drawn to the jazz idiom.

“I’m playing the chromatic harmonica more and more these days,” he says. “I’m enjoying embellishing songs by creating melodies or adding percussion sounds through the harmonica itself. To make something interesting out of nothing is what I like to do most.”

Harpin’ Jonny appears in Monterey this weekend with longtime guitarist friend Peter Clark, whose intricate and eclectic Chet Atkins-, Doc Watson-, Tommy Emmanuel-style fingerpicking plays right into Troutner’s wheelhouse.

“We’re all over the map – jazz, blues, country, rock, even gypsy jazz,” Troutner says. “We rekindled four or five years ago when Peter retired and he started jonesing to play again after years of being consumed by his job.”

HARPIN’ JONNY and PETER CLARK perform at 6:30pm Saturday, May 5. Caffe Trieste 409 Alvarado St., Monterey. No cover. 241-6064, caffetriestemonterey.com