Jazz Articles about Royce Campbell

Royce Campbell: A Jazz Guitar Christmas

by Jim Santella
November 8, 2005

With his warm and sincere holiday greeting, guitarist Royce Campbell combines mainstream jazz with the Christmas tradition. His wealth of experience has taught him to treasure these holiday songs. Nineteen years as Henry Mancini's guitarist, plus numerous tours with singers Mel Tormé, Cleo Laine, Perry Como, and Marvin Gaye, have given Campbell an appreciation for the deep meaning that these songs convey year after year. The acoustic timbres of his trio allow the music to flow naturally.

With ...

Royce Campbell: Six By Six

by John Kelman
March 26, 2005

For some reason, the guitar is one of those instruments that engender competition. While there are exceptions, in general if you put two guitarists together, what you'll get is a contest to see who can be louder, who can be faster, who can be more dominant. So, when you get an album where a relative unknown teams up with five more visible players, it's not unreasonable to expect something of a whizzing contest.

Fortunately, while there's plenty of good-spirited jousting ...

Royce Campbell: Six By Six

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 5, 2004

During the first half of the 1990s, guitarist Royce Campbell produced a series of tribute albums to Wes Montgomery. These sessions appeared on Campbell's own Paddlewheel Records, which was a subsidiary of the Japanese King label. They were released in the United States on Evidence. At that time, Royce Campbell was approached regarding a new project that would team the guitarist with five leading jazz plectrists of his choice. The resulting album, 6 X 6, featuring Campbell in performance with ...

Royce Campbell feat. Gene Bertoncini: A Tribute to Charlie Byrd

by Matt Merewitz
October 8, 2003

Sharing a rare commitment to the mastery of their instrument, jazz guitarists have a strong bond to an axe which – despite huge popularity in other genres – has by and large, seemed to elude jazz throughout the music’s history. When thinking of true non-crossover jazz guitarists, only a handful come to mind: Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Green (only in terms of longevity, not originality), and Grant Green. George Benson’s roots were in straight-ahead but he eventually ...

Royce Campbell: A Tribute to Charlie Byrd

by Matt Merewitz
July 25, 2003

Jazz guitarists have a strong bond since they share a rare commitment to the mastery of the instrument’s place within that context (as opposed to other “more popular" styles). In a century when guitar became the most widely heard and played instrument--in non-jazz settings--jazz guitarists’ dedication to their trade is admirable because they represent a handful of instrumentalists who dare to delve head-on into the jazz idiom. If you think about it, only a handful of guitarists can truly be ...

Royce Campbell: Royce Campbell with Strings

by David Adler
January 1, 2000

“With strings" jazz albums should carry a warning sticker: “This might sound like elevator music." Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown got the genre rolling, and their strings records show that it’s easier to elude the elevator music allegation if you’re a horn player. The insistent attack of a brass or wind instrument often contrasts nicely with a string section, whereas a guitar tends to blend in like wallpaper, its soft tones lulling you to sleep.Guitarist Royce Campbell walks ...