Frank Vignola Discography
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 Frank Vignola QuintetKong Man Release Date Label VMD Rating:  Right off the bat you've got to give props to a band that can cover Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, the Police, and Mozart on the same recording. That the Frank Vignola Quintet performs them with equal dexterity and originality is a fairly remarkable thing--especially when you consider that they do so within the framework of a progressive acoustic jazz-based guitar and mandolin band. But Vignola has always been his own man, and those covers, ear-popping though they may be, aren't even the most impressive things on Kong Man; Vignola's original compositions are. Vignola, second guitarist Vinny Raniolo, and mandolinist Josh Pinkham are at their most switched-on when they kick into overdrive, spilling out blistering, shimmering licks like the most blinding of bluegrass players. That's where things begin here: On &"Luke," the Django-esque opening track, the three string-pickers, along with bassist Pete Coco and percussionist Rich Zukor, are asking for a speeding ticket, and even though they quickly settle back into something less frantic, the uptempo, good-natured &"Salad and Donuts," and the relaxed Stewart Copeland-composed &"Contact," the mostly instrumental album is at its most invigorating when the quintet chases one another's tails, as on &"Fly Swatter" and the Mozart number, &"Turkish Rondo." Throughout, the musicianship is impeccable and the brainy ideas never stop flowing. Some musicians attempt to prove they can play just about anything for just that reason: to prove they can. The Frank Vignola Quintet, on the other hand, is virtuosic enough to play just about anything, but their good-time jams never feel that they're meant to prove a single thing. Jeff Tamarkin, Rovi |
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