Home » Jazz Articles » Royce Campbell

Jazz Articles about Royce Campbell

261
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Solo Trane

Read "Solo Trane" reviewed by Jack Huntley


There are some albums which, on the very first listening, create an immediate auditory union with the musician. Credit ability, musicality, interpretation, song choice, or a blending of each, Royce Campbell's solo guitar tribute to the music of John Coltrane, Solo Trane, is one of those albums. It crackles with energy and creative force as Campbell winds his way through the Coltrane book, adding evocative originals along the way. Campbell, a Washington D.C.-based veteran guitarist whose albums are always musically ...

390
Album Review

Royce Campbell: The Art of Chord Solo Guitar

Read "The Art of Chord Solo Guitar" reviewed by John Patten


Royce Campbell's The Art of Chord Solo Guitar extends his considerable collection of solo guitar releases, this time working on a series of standard tunes.

Campbell's extensive résumé includes stints with everyone from Marvin Gaye and Eddie Harris to Henry Mancini, and it's clear he's used his professional time to gain the skills necessary to create interesting and fresh arrangements on these tunes. Harmonizing such pearls as “In a Sentimental Mood" or “The Girl from Ipanema" requires an ...

149
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Get Happy

Read "Get Happy" reviewed by Jim Santella


Guitarist Royce Campbell collected songs with happy themes for this trio recording. Featuring violinist Joe Kennedy (1923-2004), the session swings in the mood intended, with an acoustic timbre and an open resonance to match. String jazz gets too little attention; yet, the violin has been with jazz since its inception. Guitar and double-bass remain integral elements of the jazz mainstream today, but violin has been removed far away to its peripheral edges.

One of the first violinists to ...

261
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Elegy to a Friend

Read "Elegy to a Friend" reviewed by Jim Santella


A versatile guitarist, Royce Campbell is equally at home with straight-ahead jazz and pure blues. When he got this group of Indianapolis jazz artists together in September 1990, it was to explore a different region altogether: jazz's modern mainstream. This allowed the quartet to explore, through original compositions, the more creative aspects of their music. Each musician stretches out considerably, and when they come together, it's with imaginative musical statements. Everybody solos prolifically.

The drummer for this session, ...

178
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Gypsy Soul

Read "Gypsy Soul" reviewed by Jim Santella


In a program of originals that recalls the spirit of Django Reinhardt, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, and other masters of early acoustic swing, guitarist Royce Campbell turns to the heartfelt spirit that feeds our soul.

Born in Indiana, Campbell issued his first recording in 1983. As Henry Mancini's guitarist, he toured and became acquainted with many aspects of songwriting. His work has always remained fresh and original. Campbell's discography, which includes tributes to Wes ...

301
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Royce Campbell Plays for Lovers

Read "Royce Campbell Plays for Lovers" reviewed by Jim Santella


Royce Campbell's warm interpretations of seven romantic jazz standards and two originals moves nice and slow, as the smooth edges from his guitar strings give his audience a natural timbre to soak up in time. Antony and Cleopatra must have enjoyed a similar experience, since Campbell's velvety-smooth guitar melodies sail gently as if on a warm ocean breeze. Of course, legendary characters from our literature didn't have the benefit of Bill Evans' “Waltz for Debby or Royce Campbell's “I Feel ...

274
Album Review

Royce Campbell: Plays For Lovers

Read "Plays For Lovers" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Guitarist Royce Campbell is a talented jazz player and composer whose accomplishments include organizing a series of Wes Montgomery tribute albums during the first half of the 1990s, as well as his own many recordings, which include last year's Six By Six, which paired Campbell in duet with guitarists John Abercrombie, Larry Coryell, Pat Martino, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Dave Stryker.

This album is clearly a mood jazz work with a heavy dependence upon string arrangements. All but two ...


Engage

Contest Giveaways
Enter our latest contest giveaway sponsored by Calligram Records
Polls & Surveys
Vote for your favorite musicians and participate in our brief surveys.
Publisher's Desk
How To Follow Staff Writers
Read on...

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.