Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop.

Career

Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and his brother plays

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

. When he was five, he picked up the guitar, learning from his father and from records by

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, and

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. At 12 he started on the banjo, and two years later he won a national championship in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. On Long Island, he studied guitar at the Cultural Arts Center. Early in his career, he went to used record stores to buy albums by musicians whose work he didn't know, so that he could study their music. In 1987, when he was 23, he formed the Hot Club Quintet, named after the

Quintette du Hot Club de France The Quintette du Hot Club de France ("The Quintet of the Hot Club of France"), often abbreviated "QdHCdF" or "QHCF", was a jazz group founded in France in 1934 by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and active in one form ...

. In the early 1990s, he was in New York City, playing in groups with

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, Andy Stein,

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, Joe Ascione, and tuba player Sam Pilafian. He formed the Concord Jazz Collective with veteran guitarists

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and Jimmy Bruno. The roster of musicians he has worked with includes

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, Charlie Byrd,

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, Johnny Frigo,

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, David Grisman,

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, and Donald Fagen. He has written over fifteen instructional books for

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, produced several instructional DVDs, and teaches courses on the internet. He appeared on the PBS television programs ''Tommy Emmanuel and Friends'' and ''Four Generations of Guitar''. In May 2017, Frank Vignola was in a serious ATV accident when he was thrown into a tree and sustained many injuries. In November 2017, friend and fellow guitarist

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

posted an update on Vignola's status, stating that he would be unable to play the guitar and may only recover after many surgeries and a long period of physical therapy. However, as of May 2018 he had recovered and was again performing.

Discography

As leader

* ''Appel Direct'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1993) * ''Makin' Whoopee'' with Sam Pilafian (Telarc, 1993) * ''Let It Happen'' (Concord Jazz, 1994) * ''Concord Jazz Guitar Collective'' with

, Jimmy Bruno (Concord Jazz, 1995) * ''Cookin' with Frank and Sam'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) * ''Look Right, Jog Left'' (Concord Vista 1996) * ''Deja Vu'' (Concord Vista, 1999) * ''Django Lives'' with Hot Club USA (Koch, 1999) * ''Without a Doubt'' with Joe Ascione,

Mark Egan Mark Egan (born January 14, 1951 in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States) is an American jazz bassist and trumpeter known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group and the Gil Evans Orchestra. He is co-founder of the jazz fusion band, Elem ...

, Frank Wess (Koch, 2000) * ''Off Broadway'' ( Nagel-Heyer, 2000) * ''Autumn Leaves at Astley's'' with

(True Track, 2001) * ''Hot Swing!'' with

(OMAC, 2001) * ''Blues for a Gypsy'' (

Acoustic Disc David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

, 2001) * ''Meeting of the Grooves'' with Gene Bertoncini (Azica, 2002) * ''Stringin' the Blues: A Tribute to Eddie Lang'' with

, Howard Alden, Al Viola,

Marty Grosz Martin Oliver Grosz (born February 28, 1930) is an American jazz guitarist, banjoist, vocalist, and composer born in Berlin, Germany, the son of artist George Grosz. He performed with Bob Wilber and wrote arrangements for him. He has also worked ...

( Jazzology, 2003) * ''Moonglow'' with Bucky Pizzarelli (Hyena, 2005) * ''Vignola Plays Gershwin'' (

, 2006) * ''MaMaVig'' with Jamie Masefield, Gary Mazzaroppi (self-produced, 2007) * '' The Living Room Sessions'' with David Grisman (Acoustic Disc, 2007) * ''Standards'' (Self-Released, 2009) * ''Just Between Frets'' with

(Solid Air, 2009) * ''Gypsy Grass'' with The Vignola Collective (Dare, 2009) * ''100 Years of Django'' (Azica, 2010) * ''Jam Session'' with Mark O'Connor,

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

(OMAC, 2010) * ''An Evening With...'' with Vinny Raniolo (2011) * ''First Time Together!'' with David Grisman, Martin Taylor (Acoustic Disc, 2012) * ''Beloved Earth Songs'' with Vinny Raniolo (2013) * ''Swing Zing!'' with Vinny Raniolo (2015) * ''Frank 'n' Dawg: Melody Monsters'' with David Grisman (Acoustic Disc, 2017)

As sideman

With

* ''Sugar'' (Private Music, 1990) * ''Up a Lazy River'' (Blue Thumb, 1992) * ''Whistling in the Wind'' (Private Music, 1994) * ''Any Time'' (Blue Thumb, 2001) * ''Live October 26, 1992 the Olympia Theater Paris, France'' (Rounder, 2005) With others *

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ...

, ''Fujitsu-Concord 27th Jazz Festival'' (Concord 1996) * Charlie Byrd, ''Du Hot Club de Concord'' (Concord, 1995) * John Bunch, ''Plays the Music of Ivring Berlin (Except One)'' (Arbors, 2008) * John Bunch, ''Do Not Disturb'' (Arbors, 2010) *

Alexis Cole Alexis Cole is an American jazz singer. Career Cole was born in Queens, New York. Her father and grandmother were both jazz singers and pianists. She grew up in South Florida, where she studied Musical Theater at the New World School of the Arts ...

, ''A Beautiful Friendship'' (Venus, 2015) *

, ''Joey DeFrancesco's Goodfellas'' (Concord Jazz, 1999) * Empire Brass, ''Braggin' in Brass'' (Telarc, 1991) * Vincent DiMartino,

Allen Vizzutti Allen Vizzutti (born September 13, 1952) is an American trumpeter, composer and music educator. Biography Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, Vizzutti learned the trumpet from his father, Lido Vizzutti. At age 16, Vizzutti won the concerto c ...

, Bobby Shew, ''Trumpet Summit'' (Summit, 1995) * Peter Ecklund, ''Peter Ecklund and the Melody Makers'' (Stomp Off, 1988) * Peter Ecklund, ''Strings Attached'' (Arbors, 1996) *

, ''Tommy Emmanuel & Friends Live from the Balboa Theatre'' (KPB 2011) * Tommy Emmanuel, ''Accomplice One'' (CGP, 2018) * Lars Erstrand, ''Beautiful Friendship'' (Sittel, 1992) * Donald Fagen, ''Morph the Cat'' (Reprise, 2006) * Johnny Frigo, ''Johnny Frigo's DNA Exposed!'' (Arbors, 2001) * David Grisman, ''At Jazz Alley'' (Acoustic Disc, 2008) *

, ''Marty Grosz and the Keepers of the Flame (and the Imps)'' (Stomp Off, 1987) * JaLaLa, ''That Old Mercer Magic!'' (Dare, 2009) * Jon-Erik Kellso, ''Chapter I'' (Arbors, 1993) * Barbara Lea, Bob Dorough, Dick Sudhalter, ''Hoagy's Children: Songs of Hoagy Carmichael Volume One'' (Audiophile, 1994) *

George Masso George Masso (November 17, 1926 – October 22, 2019) was an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, vibraphonist, and composer specializing in swing and Dixieland. Masso is notable for his work from 1948–1950 as a member of the Jimmy Dorsey band ...

, Dan Barrett, ''Let's Be Buddies'' (Arbors, 1994) *

, ''From Broadway to Bebop'' (Concord Jazz, 1994) *

, ''The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me'' (Concord 2008) * Jane Monheit, ''Home'' (EmArcy, 2010) *

, ''In Full Swing'' (Odyssey, 2003) * Mark O'Connor, ''Live in New York'' (OMAC, 2005) * Orphan Newsboys, ''Laughing at Life'' (Stomp Off, 1991) *

, ''Don't Blame Me'' (Acoustic Disc, 2007) *

, ''So Hard to Forget'' (Arbors, 2008) * Nicki Parrott, ''Sentimental Journey'' (Venus, 2015) * Nicki Parrott, ''Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Song Book'' * Sam Pilafian, ''Travelin' Light'' (Telarc, 1991) * Andy Stein, ''Goin' Places'' (Stomp Off, 1987) *

Dick Sudhalter Richard Merrill Sudhalter (28 December 1938 – 19 September 2008)Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American jazz trumpeter and writer. Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sudhalter was inspired to pursue a musical career by his ...

, ''Melodies Heard...Melodies Sweet'' (Challenge, 1999) *

Lucy Woodward Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, Joe Cocker, Cha ...

, ''Hooked!'' (Verve, 2010)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vignola, Frank 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists 1965 births Living people Concord Records artists Smooth jazz guitarists Gypsy jazz guitarists American jazz educators Guitarists from New York (state) American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Nagel-Heyer Records artists Jazzology Records artists