Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute

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Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo Appearing Sunday, November 23rd at the Cullen Center for the Arts at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute Buffalo NY 7:30 pm ( Cullen Center for the Arts at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute
845 Kenmore Ave., Buffalo, NY 14223).
With nearly 1000 engagements in the four years they've been performing as a duo, acoustic guitarists Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo have become one of the most popular and sought-after duos on the international music scene. Their dynamic genre-spanning music has brought them to 14 countries on three continents - and still growing - performing in some of the world's most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York's Lincoln Center and the world's oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.

Often featured on National Public Radio, Frank and Vinny have also become familiar figures on Public Television, featured previously on three popular shows, including the heavily programmed Tommy Emmanuel and Friends. Their own PBS special, Four Generations of Guitars premieres in the 2014-15 season as part of the forthcoming 13 episode series Music Gone Public, where they will be joined by special guests, guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and Emmanuel along with violinist Joe Craven.

Frank describes the essence of their music in clear and straightforward terms:

"There is nothing more satisfying to my ears than two guitars performing a beautiful song. As a duo we seek out beautiful songs and melodies spanning hundreds of years and try to create a uniquely fresh version."

Drawing on more than 500 years of classic songs, Vignola and Raniolo create unique, sometimes intense and often quite beautiful arrangements of these familiar and beloved songs. Although both guitarists have been deeply influenced by many great jazz guitarists, they are not a jazz guitar duo. There is very little improvisation, but the sense of spontaneity, imagination and virtuosity that are hallmarks of jazz are fully present in their performances.

A typical performance will take the audience on a breathtaking whirlwind tour of musical history. Bach, Mozart and Beethoven will be freely mixed with Ellington and Waller, blended with Gershwin and Carmichael, peppered with Bob Marley, Sting and Lennon/McCartney, and spiced with Rodrigo and Lecuona.

Brilliant musicians, they never allow their virtuosity to overshadow the purpose of their music, which is to entertain their audiences, again explained by Frank:
"We like to have people leave our shows feeling better than when they arrived. Night after night, all over the world we see how happy people are after a show. This is very important to us. We love to entertain people. Obviously, we entertain with the music, but making people laugh a bit by swinging our guitars back and forth, doing a silly cheesy dance step or having a few comedy routines is very satisfying."

The element of humor is not gratuitous, but rather serves the purpose of a palette refresher during a fine meal. Although the gentlemen laughingly describe themselves as "the Abbott and Costello of the guitar" they actually uphold the fine tradition of musical humor as offered by Victor Borge, Anna Russell, PDQ Bach and even the Marx Brothers – never losing sight of musicality even under seemingly farcical conditions. An ideal example can be seen on their forthcoming DVD, Frank and Vinny in Italy. Their version of Swan Lake opens with the guitarists playing while making Harpo-like ballet movements before turning the Tchaikovsky classic into a gutty blues, and then slipping into Beethoven's Fifth, which soon evolves into a sprightly samba. But their interpretation never disrespects or parodies the original music. The audience is exhilarated and ready for another foray into the rich musical expression of the duo – Great American Songbook classics, infectious popular tunes, flamenco stylings, traditional Italian songs and a touch of jazz – all served up with pure inventiveness and plenty of unexpected surprises.

In 2006 Frank met Vinny at a jam session in New York City. For five years, Vinny had been touring the Caribbean with a funk band and the U.S. for Radio Disney, and performing with top names like Bette Midler and David Grisman. Frank had already established himself as a top-flight guitarist with more than a dozen albums as a leader for major labels like Concord and Telarc, and as a much-in-demand guitarist with a veritable Who's Who of top names, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Queen Latifah, The Boston Pops and The New York Pops. He also performed regularly with the legendary Les Paul, who named Frank to his "Five Most Admired Guitar" list for The Wall Street Journal. Their connection was immediate and profound, and they've worked together ever since.

In 2007 Frank formed Gypsy Grass with the two guitarists augmented by mandolin, bass and violin. A year later, they streamlined it into the Frank Vignola Trio featuring Vinny Raniolo, along with bassist Gary Mazzaroppi. Two years later, recognizing that their empathy and the synergy they produced by themselves created the ideal musical setting, the duo format locked in. While both gentlemen have continued to work on their own – including Frank's continued recording on his own and in collaborations with Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman; and Vinny's work with artists like Leon Redbone, Vince Giordano, Jane Monheit, Bucky Pizzarelli and Emmanuel, as well as television work that included onscreen appearances on Boardwalk Empire – the duo is the primary focus of both gentlemen.

Working literally two nights out of every three, they have developed a loyal and consistently growing audience, while performing in larger and increasingly prestigious venues and festivals around the world. They've released four albums together – Melody Magic, Standards Live (with special guest Bucky Pizzarelli), An Evening With…, and their most recent album, Beloved Earth Songs. Their upcoming album Frank and Vinny is scheduled for release early next year. The aforementioned DVD Live in Italy, recorded at the Vicenza 2013 Guitar Festival will also be released in 2015.

Education is an important element for both of these gentlemen. Frank has produced seven educational courses for truefire.com and written 18 guitar instruction books for Mel Bay Publications; and Vinny has done extensive transcription work for both companies. Frank also conducts online workshops for more than 100 enrolled students in 10 countries. Together and separately Frank and Vinny have conducted master classes, workshops and jam session-style clinics at many universities, grade schools and music camps throughout the world including Boston University, Asiago University, Bowling Green University, and The Julliard School. They have also issued an educational CD called Let's Jam!

But the intensive work schedule makes touring the primary focus. Performing engagements continue on a breakneck pace with upcoming touring highlights including tours of the UK and Sweden, the Vail Jazz Festival, Vancouver Island Music Festival, Crested Butte Music Festival, Ards Guitar Fest in Ireland and Festival des Guittares du Monde in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Quebec. They will be touring the U.S. starting in February 2015 behind the new CD and DVD releases.

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