Frank VIGNOLA, Vinnie RANIOLO, Joe ROBINSON
Saturday, February 29, 2020 7:30 pm
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
A night of spectacular jazz accompanied by rapid right-hand picking is put on display by these three magicians of the acoustic guitar. “An explosion of talent and virtuosity!”
Presented in association with San Francisco Performances
Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, Mark O Connor, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List” for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola’s jaw-dropping technique explains why the New York Times deemed him “one of the brightest…stars of the guitar”.
As a touring guitar musician, performer, and educator, Vinny Raniolo is best known for his accompanying skills and is a very high demand rhythm guitarist. His dynamic playing has brought him to 14 countries on three continents – and still growing – having performed 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.
While keeping a busy touring schedule in a variety of musical settings, Vinny has also become a familiar figure on Public Television. Featured previously on three popular shows, including the heavily programmed Tommy Emmanuel and Friends, in Frank Vignola’s Four Generations of Guitar as the youngest generation in the lineage of jazz guitarists with veteran Bucky Pizzarelli and in the Music Gone Public series.
Recording credits include soundtracks for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Woody Allen’s film Café Society.
Twenty-six-year-old Australian Joe Robinson is a world-class virtuoso guitarist and singer/songwriter with a unique musical sensibility, injecting a unique fusion of rock, blues, R&B and jazz into a fresh sound that is entirely his own. Displaying his virtuosity on electric as well as acoustic guitar, Robinson was voted “Best New Talent” in the Guitar Player Readers’ Poll and landed a coveted spot as one of Australian Guitar Magazine’s Top 50 Best Guitarists!
Robinson’s talents were further recognized by Guitar Player magazine as part of a cover story entitled “Youthquake 2017: Ten Mind-Blowing Young Guitarists.” In the article, Guitar Player observes Robinson is “equally mind-blowing as an acoustic fingerpicker and electric soloist…his YouTube videos display an astounding combination of taste, speed, cagey phrasing, and a clear, articulate, and sparking tone.”
Robinson started playing guitar at age nine and when he quickly outpaced his guitar instructor, began educating himself via the internet. At age 11 he was a touring guitarist and at just 13 years old, he won the Australian National Songwriting Competition. Within a couple of years he was touring regularly and sharing stages with artists such as Tommy and Phil Emmanuel, both of whom served as mentors. When a 16-year-old Robinson burned through a Chet-inflected medley of “Day Tripper” and “Lady Madonna” in 2008 at the opening round of the nationally broadcast Australia’s Got Talent television series competition, the entire house—including the judges—gave him a standing ovation. He went on to win $250k with his take on Tommy Emmanuel’s arrangement of “Classical Gas.”
Robinson has toured North America and abroad (China, Japan, Europe, and Australia) playing numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, and headlining clubs, which has enabled him to define himself as a budding world visionary. In his solo show, there are a few moments where he physically has two guitars — one acoustic and one electric — strapped over his shoulder and is playing them expertly at the same time! In addition to extensive touring on his own, Robinson toured with Guitar Army featuring fellow master guitarists/singers/songwriters Robben Ford and Lee Roy Parnell in 2016, and in 2017, Robinson joined guitar greats John Jorgenson and Lee Roy Parnell in Guitar Army on the road and in the studio!
Robinson is currently writing and recording his highly-awaited fourth solo album (a follow-up to his well received Gemini, Vol. 1 and Gemini, Vol. 2 EP’s) expected to be released in 2019. He has also been keeping a busy schedule on the road with solo dates and shows with Tommy Emmanuel, Rodney Crowell (opening shows and as a member of Crowell’s acoustic trio), and Edwin McCain, among others!
“It’s not hard to imagine him rivaling the popularity of, say, John Mayer in coming years.”
– Washington Post