SALT LAKE CITY — Guitar has taken Frank Vignola all over the world. And it’s bringing him back to Salt Lake City.
The virtuoso jazz guitarist — who’s worked with Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis and guitar legend Les Paul, among many others — brings an 11-piece orchestra to the Capitol Theatre on Nov. 23 for the the JazzSLC Concert Series. The group will celebrate 100 years of jazz and swing music’s greatest musicians.
In a recent phone interview, Vignola said JazzSLC’s director, Gordon Hanks, gave him a blank slate for this concert.
The show will be divided into three distinct musical eras, beginning with a tribute to guitarist Les Paul and featuring Vignola and Vinny Raniolo on guitars and Nicki Parrot on bass. From there, the the Django Band (Vignola and Olli Soikkelli on guitars, Julien Labro on accordion, Jason Anick on violin and Nicki Parrott on bass) will perform. It’ll culminate with a tribute to Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman, highlighting Vignola, Parrott, Ken Peplowski on clarinet, Warren Vache on trumpet, Chuck Redd on vibes, Mark Shane on piano and Paul Wells on drums.
“The history these guys carry into the concert is astounding,” Vignola said. “You name any of the greatest musicians of the day and these guys have played with them.”
Vignola told a story of the concert’s trumpeter, Vache, who began playing a golden trumpet as a young musician but had to sell it to make ends meet. As the story goes, Vache always regretted selling the trumpet. Just recently, however, someone connected Vache with the trumpet’s owner, who agreed to sell it back.
“And, Vache will be playing his golden trumpet at the concert,” Vignola said. “Talk about how the universe works, huh? Now, Vache is playing with a new sense of vigor and purpose.”
Growing up with the music of the ’60s and ’70s, one might have expected Vignola to migrate into the world of rock ’n’ roll — and he almost did.
“My dad played the banjo, and I grew up listening to the music of Django (Reinhardt) on the record player with him,” Vignola recalled. “He got me a guitar instead of a banjo because I think he needed to have a guitarist in his band. He taught me a few chords and then got me a great music teacher who taught me all about the great jazz guitarists. I went about the music almost backwards for my generation.
“Then one day I heard Frank Zappa playing his guitar, and my life wasn’t the same again,” he continued. “Just to hear rock ’n’ roll played like that made me realize I’d picked the right instrument.”
Vignola started getting gigs at age 13. Because of his mastery of Django Reinhardt’s music, he found himself in demand for talk and radio shows. His parents then enrolled him in a school for the arts. Wanting to give it a go professionally, Vignola began contacting bands he wanted to play with.
“I got a lot of rejections at first, but I’d decided that a ‘no’ was one step closer to a ‘yes,’ and eventually I started landing the jobs with bands I admired,” he said. “After that, I never looked back.”
If you go ...
What: Frank Vignola & Friends
When: Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South
How much: $24.50 for adults, $10 for students with I.D.
Web: jazzslc.com