Howard Alden is the internationally-renowned jazz musician who played guitar for actor Sean Penn in the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown.

And on Tuesday, May 5, he is making an appearance in West Yorkshire as the guest of Huddersfield Jazz Guitar Society.

The Californian guitar virtuoso, who is now based in New York, has played and recorded with some of the jazz genre’s biggest names, including Dizzy Gillespie, Ruby Braff, Red Norvo and seven-string guitar master George Van Eps (with whom he made the 1991 album Thirteen Strings).

While in Huddersfield he will play a gig with jazz guitar society members guitarist Sam Dunn and bass player Phil Kampen at the Rat and Ratchet.

Society founder Darren Dutson Bromley said: “Howard is on a European tour at the moment and we have nabbed him for a concert at the guitar society. We are very lucky to have him come over and we are very excited to have him come and play for the society.”

Howard has played for the society once before, three years ago. Darren explained how the Huddersfield group has managed to attract a player of such calibre not once but twice: “The connection that got us Howard Alden was Adrian Ingram (another founder of the society). Howard and Adrian both play Benedetto guitars, which are really fantastic hand-built American guitars, and met while on the Benedetto players’ tours in America and also when Adrian was writing for various magazines.”

Howard’s talent has taken him all over Europe, the Americas and Canada.

One of the highlights of his career was being asked to perform the guitar solos for the 1999 film Sweet and Lowdown, which tells the story of a fictitious legendary 1930s guitarist, and stars Sean Penn, whose role won him a nomination for an Academy Award.

Howard not only provided the musical sound track, he also coached the leading actor on how to play the guitar.

The concert at the Rat and Ratchet on Chapel Hill starts at 8pm.

Howard Alden will be returning to West Yorkshire in May to run a workshop/masterclass at the Yorkshire Music School in Saltaire on Saturday, May 9.