Frank Vignola & Pasquale Grasso in New York

Frank Vignola is an American jazz guitarist, born on Long Island in 1965, whose playing draws on swing, gypsy jazz and the music of Django Reinhardt. His recordings include Blues for a Gypsy and 100 Years of Django, and he has also worked with guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and Tommy Emmanuel. He toured as a member of Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing Trio and later developed a long-running two-guitar partnership with rhythm guitarist Vinny Raniolo. In New York, he has hosted Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night, a recurring series built around invited players at Birdland Jazz Club.

Pasquale Grasso is an Italian jazz guitarist, born in Ariano Irpino in 1988, whose playing is rooted in bebop and the solo-guitar tradition. He won the Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition in 2015, and his recordings include Solo Standards, Solo Monk and Be-Bop!, featuring his interpretations of the music of Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. After moving to New York in 2012, he developed a close association with the jazz club Mezzrow, appearing there in solo and small-group settings. He has also toured as a member of Samara Joy’s band and played guitar on her album Linger Awhile.