Frank Vignola, born December 30th, 1965, 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, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, 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.   Frank Vignola is one of the most popular and sought after guitarists on the international  music scene. His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three  continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious  venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in  San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor  concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.   Vignola has recorded over 30 CD’s as a leader and has been a guest on hundreds of  recordings. Vignola has written over 18 educational music books, recorded the critically  acclaimed, “Vignola Plays Gershwin” CD, and recorded 2 DVD’ for Mel Bay  Publications. He has also produced 42 full length video teaching courses for  TrueFire.com, for all levels. His on-line One on One private lessons and online Jazz  Studio continue to thrive, having reached thousands of jazz guitar enthusiasts throughout  the globe.   Currently, Frank Vignola holds residency every Wednesday night at the world famous  Birdland Jazz Club Theatre in New York City. “Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night” has  featured some of the finest talent on the planet including Mike Stern, Pasquale Grasso,  Peter Bernstein, Houston Person and more.    

Lead by guitarist Frank Vignola and featuring bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Alex  Raderman, the Birdland Guitar Trio features some of New York City’s top jazz musicians.  Every Wednesday night they grace the stage of the prestigious Bridland Jazz Club featuring  special guests of some of the top names in jazz from Bria Skonberg, Catherine Russell, Ken  Peplowski, Mike Stern, Karrin Allyson, Houston Person, Pasquale Grasso and many others.   Frank Vignola, born December 30th, 1965, 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, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, 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.   Frank Vignola is one of the most popular and sought after guitarists on the international  music scene. His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three  continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious venues,  including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco,  New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall,  Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.   A master clinician, he has also produced 42 full length video teaching courses for  truefire.com for all levels. His on-line one on one private lessons and online Jazz Studio  continue to thrive, having reached thousands of jazz guitar enthusiasts throughout the globe.  Vignola also runs three separate guitar camps across the country every year.  Gary Mazzaroppi, One of the most respected jazz bassists on the east coast, Mazzaroppi  has toured extensively with the Lionel Hampton Big Band for five years. Since then, he has  accompanied many jazz artists including Red Norvo, Herb Ellis, Stan Getz, Joe Morello,  Buddy Rich, Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, Clark Terry, Charlie Byrd, and Mark O’Connor.  Alex Raderman is a NYC based drummer and percussionist. Originally from Chappaqua  NY, Alex is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Ralph Peterson,  John Ramsay, and Victor Mendoza. He received his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance at  NYU Steinhardt, where he studied with Billy Drummond and Dafnis Prieto. A versatile  musician, performing in a variety of musical settings that range from jazz to pop, rock, funk,  and world music, Alex boasts an impressive resume of musicians he has shared the stage  with, including The Hot Sardines, The Louis Armstrong Eternity Band directed by David  Ostwald, Ralph Lalama, Houston Person, Brian Lynch, Joe Alterman, Darlene Love, Bernard  Woma and many more. Additionally, he has performed in the house jazz trio as part of the hit  Off-Broadway immersive theatre production Sleep No More since 2014. Alex has maintained  an active performance and touring schedule in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Central  America, and the Caribbean. He has performed at venues and festivals ranging from  Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smalls, Joe’s Pub, The Blue Note, and Central Park  SummerStage in NYC to The Newport Jazz Festival, The Montreal Jazz Festival, The  London Jazz Festival, and Blue Note Jazz Festival Yokohama. 

Pasquale Grasso - It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream  of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover  story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him.  “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now,  Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult. “Mostly what I hear now are guitar  players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little  bit of [Bill Frisell],” he continued. “What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his  model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever  addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.” As he’s done with many rising jazz stars, Metheny later invited Grasso over to his New  York pad to jam and share some wisdom. He’s since become a generous presence in  Grasso’s life, and his assessment of Grasso’s playing is—no surprise—spot-on. Born in  Italy and now based in New York City, the 30-year- old guitarist has developed an  astounding technique and concept informed not by jazz guitarists so much as by bebop  pioneers like Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and the classical-guitar  tradition. His new digital-only EP series, available beginning in June from Sony  Masterworks, showcases Grasso in the solo-guitar format, where his intensive studies of  both midcentury jazz and classical meld into a signature mastery that is, remarkably, at  once unprecedented and evocative.  His unique innovative style is hypnotizing to watch as his nimble fingers appear to  change the 6 guitar strings into 88 piano keys. When not performing solo or with his trio,  Grasso has been a frequent collaborator with vocalist Samara Joy. He was a special guest  on several songs on Joy’s two time Grammy award winning album Linger Awhile.   Grasso has also graced prestigious stages worldwide including Montreal Jazz Festival,  Newport Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Monterey Jazz Festival and has appeared  live on NBC’s Today Show.