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The Frank & Joe Show: Looking for a Long, Happy Run
by R.J. DeLuke
Back in the 1960s, after the British Invasion, it seemed every block had a band and anyone who knew three chords on a guitar joined in. Maybe they couldn't really play guitar, and the drummer might have sounded like he should be washing pots and pans, not banging on them. But it was all among friends and it was fun. It was a feeling. Imagine if such a feeling were to be transposed to those who actually knew ...
Continue ReadingFrank Vignola and Joe Ascione: 33 1/3: The Frank & Joe Show
by J. Robert Bragonier
If you were in New York City some Sunday night and you should chance to wander by the nightclub Sweet Rhythm, you would experience a musical happening of ever-increasing proportions. There, guitarist Frank Vignola, percussionist Joe Ascione, and “their merry band of music makers" hold court for an ever-expanding group of devotees. What makes these events noteworthy is the breadth of different musical dialects spoken: gypsy swing, breezy island melodies, cowboy kitsch, Latin and Spanish-tinged evergreens--or should I say cacti?--and ...
Continue ReadingThe Frank and Joe Show: The Hoot Factor at Sweet Rhythm
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
These guys are a hoot. On first hearing Frank & Joe's debut CD on Hyena Records, 33 1/3 , I e-mailed Joe that very thought, and he wrote back, “what is this 'hoot'?" I said it refers to something that's fun and delightful, like their CD. Turns out it's also a hoot to watch “The Frank and Joe Show" itself, as I did recently at Sweet Rhythm, where it's been running for months every Sunday night. The band that evening ...
Continue ReadingFrank Vignola: Blues for a Gypsy
by David Adler
With this CD, Frank Vignola turns in an exquisite set of solo acoustic guitar music. It’s intended as an oblique tribute to Django Reinhardt, sort of picking up where Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine left off. Vignola, however, plays only two Reinhardt compositions, “Tears" and “Manoir De Mes Reves." And he starts off with something most unusual: a rubato treatment of Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee" that ultimately winds up to an old-fashioned swing tempo (perhaps the first solo version of ...
Continue ReadingFrank Vignola: Off Broadway
by C. Michael Bailey
The 2000 Series. No, this is not the 2000 World Series, handily won by the New York Yankees. This is the contemporary jazz series being produced by German Label Nagel-Heyer. When I say contemporary jazz, I mean that in the temporal sense. It is music being freshly composed and performed today. The majority of Nagel-Heyer's catalog is devoted to Traditional Jazz, a la Louis Armstrong and Bix Biederbecke. The newest release in this series is Guitarist Frank Vignola's Off Broadway. ...
Continue ReadingFrank Vignola: Deja Vu
by Jim Santella
Songs by Cream, Carole King, Bob Marley, Isaac Hayes, Elvis Costello, David Crosby, Sting, and John Lennon make up much of Frank Vignola's latest album. The guitarist treats them with respect, offering familiar melodies and standard rhythms while stepping up occasionally to improvise. Vignola's smooth guitar sound embellishes each favorite tune; he's supported by drums, electric bass, keyboards, and group background vocals. Vignola, whose improvisation has a mild Country & Western quality, studied banjo, and at age 14 won the ...
Continue ReadingFrank Vignola: Deja Vu
by Jack Bowers
As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s like deja vu all over again.” Or in this case, Deja Vu times four, as guitarist Frank Vignola includes four brief but dissimilar versions of David Crosby’s composition on his newest Concord Vista release. Like the other songs presented here, they are aimed squarely at the “smooth Jazz” market — in other words, nothing to inflame the senses, nor to ruffle the feathers. Tempos are moderate, rhythmic patterns well–defined, improvisations clear–cut and utterly predictable. ...
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