Frank Vignola

An extremely versatile jazz guitarist of impeccable technique, Frank Vignola has demonstrated that he is capable of playing everything from fusion and commercial pop-jazz to hard bop, post-bop, and swing -- gypsy and otherwise. The native New Yorker has a wide variety of influences; everyone from <a href="spotify:artist:03YhcM6fxypfwckPCQV8pQ">Wes Montgomery</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4DuZTASH5eSyd0K73W6fuZ">Joe Pass</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3t58jfUhoMLYVO14XaUFLA">Pat Metheny</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:5Z1XZyEFY0dewG8faEIiEx">Django Reinhardt</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0WdDpEeDIDmtYh5sqRrdI6">Charlie Christian</a> has affected his playing in some way, and these different influences have asserted themselves at different times in his career. He arrived as a bandleader with the album Appel Direct in 1993, with sidemen who included <a href="spotify:artist:1KTUh4AYegM2fSdac5xqPb">Junior Mance</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1M5tpCHilgyeT9aXu1J9Ib">Billy Mitchell</a>, which received excellent critical notice and brought him to the attention of numerous musicians. A prolific traveler, he averages over 200 dates a year as a bandleader or sideman with top-shelf artists including <a href="spotify:artist:6DbJi8AcN5ANdtvJcwBSw8">Ringo Starr</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0S1SjYebdSaiMpI8xSW2Wb">Donald Fagen</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:375zxMmh2cSgUzFFnva0O7">Wynton Marsalis</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6HjfVflhYjbu6PSIsFOjwM">Tommy Emmanuel</a>. 2000's Without a Doubt was acclaimed as a post-bop classic; Vignola had enlisted jazz flute great <a href="spotify:artist:1yy6FH5FQX3RQqxnjMPRBn">Frank Wess</a>, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:6wy22BewtnpjMpQahRiO4b">Mark Egan</a>, and longtime drummer <a href="spotify:artist:5mZmWXLmXgU4r66LllfeEc">Joe Ascione</a>. His collaborative and tribute offerings are often the most highly regarded titles in his catalog. They include Meeting of the Grooves with <a href="spotify:artist:3ATJ09aVV7r7szOlQCnHMp">Gene Bertoncini</a>; 2006's Vignola Plays Gershwin; and Just Between Frets with <a href="spotify:artist:6HjfVflhYjbu6PSIsFOjwM">Emmanuel</a>, in addition to his now-famous 100 Years of Django, released the same year he began his exploration of American roots and swing with <a href="spotify:artist:5zfaMrd5q4szVTxVYWuoDV">Mark O'Connor</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1dyGPAYZZHHW6WIqwKN5QF">Chris Thile</a> on Jam Session. In the 2000s, Vignola has also become a recurring presence on NPR and Public television.

Born in suburban Long Island on December 30, 1965, Vignola was raised in the New York area. The Italian-American started playing the guitar at the age of five and grew up admiring a variety of guitarists. Far from a jazz snob, Vignola never listened to jazz exclusively and was also a major fan of rock, R&B, and pop. The guitarists whom he admired ranged from jazz musicians to rock icons like <a href="spotify:artist:6PAt558ZEZl0DmdXlnjMgD">Eric Clapton</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4eg6G4HaUe2ILWXKd1eaDa">Eddie Van Halen</a>. As a young adult, Vignola studied at the Cultural Arts Center of Long Island and went on to enjoy a lot of sideman gigs in the '80s. The New Yorker was 27 when, in 1993, he signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Concord+Jazz%22">Concord Jazz</a> and recorded his first <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Concord%22">Concord</a> session as a leader, Appel Direct. Several more <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Concord%22">Concord</a> releases followed, including 1993's Let it Happen, 1996's Look Right, Jog Left, and 1999's Déjà Vu.

Vignola then moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Nagel+Heyer%22">Nagel Heyer</a> for 2000's Off Broadway, after which he stayed busy delivering two well-received <a href="spotify:artist:5Z1XZyEFY0dewG8faEIiEx">Django Reinhardt</a>-influenced albums, 2001's Blues for a Gypsy and 2003's Gypsy Soul. In 2007 he paid tribute to composer <a href="spotify:artist:1YuknfkSYTTbolRpwZBOv4">George Gershwin</a> with Vignola Plays Gershwin, and he once again honored <a href="spotify:artist:5Z1XZyEFY0dewG8faEIiEx">Reinhardt</a> with 2010's 100 Years of Django. Vignola then paired with guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2Xo4rTLaRywwgwTaIT0zPb">Vinny Raniolo</a> on two albums, the classical-leaning Melody Magic in 2013 and the more straight-ahead Swing Zing! in 2015. In 2017 Vignola collaborated with mandolinist <a href="spotify:artist:5udgy2xk333j33hKnwDz8O">David Grisman</a> on the bluegrass and gypsy jazz-tinged Frank 'N' Dawg. Two years later, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Acoustic+Disc%22">Acoustic Disc</a> officially released First Time Together! with <a href="spotify:artist:3ZNRPH9WeMybGggbmNOE62">Martin Taylor</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5udgy2xk333j33hKnwDz8O">Grisman</a>, which had previously only been available in 2012 as a privately issued CD-R. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi