The Guitar Magic of Warwick’s Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo

At the Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival in August 2019, Frank Vignola teamed with fellow guitarist Vinny Raniolo and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi for a dazzling performance that included American Songbook standards from Irving Berlin and Cole Porter as well as Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Girl From Impanema”, Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and Django Reinhardt’s “Song d’Automne”.

On Sat., Jan. 16, from 7 – 8 p.m., Vignola and Raniolo will team up again, this time from Vignola’s home in Warwick, NY. The virtual concert will be the New Jersey Jazz Society’s January Jazz Social, which can be viewed free on the Society’s Facebook page (NJJS). Vignola and Raniolo will be honoring New Jersey guitar greats such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Lou Pallo, Tony Mottola, Al Caiola, and Les Paul.

In Morristown, Vignola paid tribute to his 94-year-old mentor, Bucky Pizzarelli, who played with him and Raniolo at several previous festivals. “Without Bucky Pizzarelli, we would not know jazz guitar as it is today,” Vignola said. Pizzarelli passed away eight months later.

The 55-year-old Vignola has performed with a wide range of musical artists — from Ringo Starr and Madonna to Wynton Marsalis to the Boston and New York Pops orchestras. His PBS Special, Four Generations of Guitar, with Raniolo, Pizzarelli, and Tommy Emmanuel, aired on public TV stations throughout the country in 2015.

Raniolo, 36, grew up playing alto saxophone in his school band “until the guitarist showed me an ‘A’ chord on his acoustic guitar. Then I was hooked.” He also learned how to play electric bass in college because “a teacher told me, ‘Every band needs a bass player.’” As a result, Raniolo is one of the most in-demand rhythm guitarists. His recording credits include the soundtracks of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Woody Allen’s Café Society, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.