Jazz guitar whiz Frank Vignola is sometimes called a swing guitarist, but in fact his competencies encompass most of what we call jazz. Still, Vignola is best known for his Django sets and for his talents at song interpretation: an art that so much post-swing jazz has left in the dust in favor of its advanced harmonic explorations.
Vignola’s taste for tunesmithery led him to his adventurous album Melody Magic (2013), a collection of mostly classical music covers on guitar. The swinging take on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony might come off as a bit of a novelty, but by the time you reach the luminous and stunning arrangement of Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, you know that this is serious business after all.
Frank Vignola appears with notable trumpeter Warren Vache at the Rosendale Café on Friday, December 13 at 8 p.m. Admission costs $20. The Rosendale Café is located at 434 Main Street in Rosendale. For more information, visit www.rosendalecafe.com or call (845) 658-9048.