Hey everyone,

Please check out our new blog at www.fvquintet.blogspot.com. We'll be updating it regularly with photos and news, as well as anything else we can pull out of our twisted minds. I've already posted a few things and a bunch of photos from our Lionel Hampton Tribute recording session.........

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Check out this review of our gig with Jane Monheit from the Albany Times Union Newspaper.

Jazz tour from Gershwin to Black Sabbath

By GREG HAYMES
Staff writer

ALBANY … At the end of the two-hour concert, jazz guitarist-bandleader Frank Vignola leaned into the microphone to inform the audience that the band didn't know any more George Gershwin songs and that they were thinking about playing "Dr. Feelgood" by the heavy metal band Motley Crue. "Motley Crue was heavily influenced by Gershwin, you know," he pointed out with a chuckle.

Well, no. But it does seem that just about everyone else who came along after Gershwin owes him at least a nod of appreciation.

On Saturday night at The Egg, Vignola and his quintet romped through the deep and diverse Gershwin song bag for two hours, pulling out one gem of a song after another and polishing them with understated virtuosity until they sparkled like they were brand-new.

Vignola is a master guitarist, whose primary influence is the great Gypsy jazzman Django Reinhardt. But Vignola is certainly no one-trick pony, and his catalog of recordings finds him digging into an eclectic bunch of song bags that include Mozart, Charlie Parker and Black Sabbath.

His most recent album is "Vignola Plays Gershwin," which made him the perfect candidate to kick off The Egg's "New York Living Legacy: George Gershwin" series. And the fact that he brought along sublime jazz vocalist Jane Monheit as his special guest was the icing on the cake (as well as the whipped cream and the cherry, too).

From the opening "Strike Up the Band" … infused with skittering Latin rhythms … Vignola and his band had total command of the music, as though swinging was simply second nature to the musicians. The music was subtle and unassuming, but the technical mastery was undeniable. The rhythm section of bassist Pete Coco, guitarist Vinnie Raniolo (celebrating his 22nd birthday) and drummer Rich Zukor (playing a magnificently minimalist drum kit featuring two drums, one cymbal and a high-hat) kept the pulse going with an almost-subliminal beat at times.

And violinist Aaron Weinstein was a wonder, acting as Vignola's foil and often stealing his spotlight with his marvelous playing. The second half of the program kicked off with a Weinstein and Vignola duet rendition of "Lady Be Good," and the twosome took the tune through at least a dozen twists, turning it into a 12-minute opus and the highlight of the night.

The 30-year-old Monheit delivered the evening's other brightest musical moments with an intimate but assertive "Someone to Watch Over Me" and the encore of "The Man I Love." Despite her obvious pregnancy, Monheit made much more than just a guest appearance, singing 10 of the 16 songs of the concert, including the sly, sultry "They Can't Take That Away From Me," the jaunty "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and the yearning "Embraceable You."

The easygoing rapport between Vignola, Monheit and the band was obvious, and what's more, their rapport with the audience was just as strong. The Gershwin concert series at The Egg is going to have it up a notch to top Saturday's opening show.