Frank Vignola and Joe Ascione are finally coming to Rochester (again).
A few years back, my friend Jason Crane called one night and asked if I wanted to go see Frank Vignola and Joe Ascione perform at a private gig for some radio programmers, DJs, and people (?) like that. Accustomed as he was, and is, to having me say "no, I can't go because. . .," we were both surprised when I said, "Yeah, I can do that, sounds cool."
We went to one of the larger Rochester hotels where they were going to play in a medium sized conference room for about 50 - 60 people. They started playing and they just took over the room. They were exciting, mesmerizing, - just absolutely amazing. If I remember correctly, the room just stood as one and gave them a long and loud standing ovation at the finish of their set. I've been fortunate enough to see a great many musical legends perform in my live during my lifetime: Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Ray Charles, Teddy Wilson, among others. No one I've ever seen captivated an audience more that Vignola and Ascione did that night. Obviously, I was very impressed.
I went up and introduced myself to them as they were packing up their instruments. I raved about their performance, we talked a little about our shared Italian backgrounds, kids, and gnocchi. They were as genuine as their music; full of humor, energy, and joy.
I immediately became a booster. At the time of this Rochester visit, Hyena Records had just released The Frank and Joe Show: 33 1/3. I started playing it on my show every chance I could get. My favorites were "Paper Moon," "Begin the Beguine," and "Tico, Tico." My sons loved the theme from the 1960s animated "Spiderman." The following year came The Frank and Joe Show: 66 2/3, and most recently, The Frank and Joe Show: Submarine Bus." This last effort is a bit of a departure from the energized ensemble jazz of 33 1/3 and 66 2/3. Submarine Bus is a funky and funny set of tunes that I fully intended to dislike because as I told Vignola, "I'm as square as a block of wood." I should have had more faith though, because Vignola and Ascione know how to rock, how to swing, how to groove, and now, how to sing. It's definitely different but it's definitely fun. It is, what apparently all of their music can't help but being, and that's vibrant.
They're coming back to Rochester this coming Sunday, July 30th, at the Highland Park Bowl. It's an afternoon/evening of Italian music and food. The gates open at 3:00 pm and tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster. There will be two other acts, a party band called Allegro and a young Italian crooner named Patrizio Buanne. There is more info at www.HighlandBowlsummer.com
I'll try to post more tomorrow but if you can make it, this is a show you won't want to miss. I can't speak from experience about the other two acts but The Frank and Joe Show is something to see!
