Vignola’s Hot Jazz Warms Up The Ritz

December 7th, 2011
By Matt Frey
Mid Hudson Times

Returning to the Ritz Theater this Saturday, Dec. 10 are the gypsy jazz specialists of Frank Vignola’s Hot Club, whose sweltering blend of contemporary and classical tunes have burned up the Tom Humphrey Guitar Series for the past three seasons.

According to Brianna Cox, Communications, Development and Marketing Associate for the theater, Vignola’s performance last year was a sold out, standing room only gig. But if you’ve never heard of the band, which is comprised of two guitar players and a lone violinist, you might wondering what to expect.

In a way, so is Vignola.

“It’s basically timeless, great melodies we play – everything from Beethoven’s Fifth to Hoagy Carmichael to Django Reinhardt to Les Paul to Simon and Garfunkel to Frank Zappa to a Beatles medley,” said Vignola. “Mozart; ‘Swan Lake,’ we even play ‘Swan Lake.’”

When asked if he was hoping for a similar standing room only outcome to his upcoming concert, Vignola said, “I hope so, or else maybe I should try a different form of music.”

Like many notable musicians, Vignola got his start playing the guitar early in life.

“I grew up playing and learning traditional jazz in the style of Les Paul and Louie Armstrong,” said the guitarist.

But it wasn’t until decades later that he branched out to include eclectic material in his performances, such as songs by rockers The Police and the classic “Flight of the Bumblebee” in rapid succession.

“After 35 or 40 years touring and playing music, I found myself attracted to just great melodies, no matter what genre of music,” Vignola said.

Vignola plays between 200 and 250 performances a year and has wowed audiences in places like Italy, Singapore and Australia, as well as most of the states here in America. But even with all of his worldly experience, Vignola says that there’s something special about the Ritz and the local populous that keeps him coming back.

“The Ritz Theater is a great venue,” he said. “Especially in Orange County, there’s a lot of music lovers. So I find that when I play in the area, a lot of people come out – a lot of guitar fans.”

While some might scoff at the approximately $12 million needed to restore the Ritz Theater to its former glory, Vignola thinks it can be done. In fact, he’s seen similar things happen in other communities around the country with stellar results.

“I just am looking forward to the restoration to be completed,” he said. “It’s a wonderful thing they’re doing. It’s very difficult, especially in these times, to raise the money to restore a theater like that. But I travel all over the country, and there are theaters everywhere that have been restored from the 1920s and ‘30s, and it’s so cool to play in those venues, you know?

“I consider us sometimes a vaudeville style act, where we travel around in the car, we set up our amps and we entertain people. So to play in theaters like that is really is a big thrill for me.”

Vignola – who lives in Warwick with his wife and four children when he’s not touring – thinks that once the Ritz Theater renovations have been completed, the venue will become an economic engine for the cash-strapped city.

“Local economies really thrive when they have art programs going on. I see that all over the country,” he said. “It really stimulates the local economy.”

When 200 people come to see a concert, many of them patronize local businesses before and after the show, Vignola said.

Also, some of those people are young guitarists trying to hone their craft, he said. Meeting these young virtuosos is one of Vignola’s greatest joys.

“You know what’s really exciting for me? Everywhere we go, there’s a handful of young guitar players who show up. They’re just playing great; they’re really into the music and I think that’s the power of the Internet and Youtube and being able to study and watch the masters. It’s really interesting the affect it has on the younger generation playing guitar.”

The show begins at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Ritz Theater lobby, located at 107 Broadway in Newburgh. Tickets are $25 each and are available by calling TicketWeb at 866-468-7619, via the Ritz Theater website at www.ritztheaternewburgh.org, or at the recently renovated Ritz Theater Box Office in person or by calling 845-784-1199. Admission includes a reception with the musicians immediately following the concert.

Saturday also marks the opening of the newest Ann Street Art Gallery show, Woven Stories: Contemporary Tapestry, right around the corner, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Thank you to our 2011 Ritz Kidz Performers!

The Ritz Theater presented the 3rd Annual Ritz Kidz “Newburgh’s Got Talent!” Talent show on Sunday, November 20th. With 17 incredible performances, it was a very tough decision for our judges to choose 3 winners!

The talent show will air on Time Warner Cable channel 23 on December 12 at 7:30 PM! We will also have the video up soon on our YouTube page.

Visit our Flickr Page to see photos from the Talent Show

Our 2011 Performers, in order:
1. Briana Bené Espinal
Perfect, by Pink.
Click HERE to see her performance!
2. Aizia Smith
Perpetual Motion, cello performance.
Click HERE to see her performance!
3.  Kayla Lizette Garcia
Rolling in the Deep, by Adele.
Click HERE to see her performance!
4.  Better Late Than Never
(Sal Fratto, Ricky Gomez, Angel Salcedo and Dorian Miele)
Into Your Arms, by The Maine.
Click HERE to see their performance!
5.  Larry Arnold
Big Brown Eyes, original music and lyrics.
Click HERE to see his performance!
6. Justin Sabater
Baby, by Justin Bieber.
Click HERE to see his performance!
7. Brianna Spencer
violin performance – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Concerto No. 23 in g-minor.
Click HERE to see her performance!
8. Mei-Ling Sabater
Never Knew I Needed, by Ne Yo.
Click HERE to see her performance!
9. Bridget Ruggiero
Going Home, original music and lyrics.
Click HERE to see her performance!
10. Angelica Flowers and Cherrianna Bailey
Next to You, Chris Brown & Justin Bieber.
Click HERE to see their performance!
11. Kaley Colon
Unfaithful, by Rihanna.
Click HERE to see her performance!
12. Arielle Cutroneo
Monster, by Paramore.
Click HERE to see her performance!
13. Phillip Ramos
I Want You Back, by Michael Jackson.
Click HERE to see his performance!
14. Michaela Cierra
Put Your Records On, by Corinne Bailey Rae.
Click HERE to see her performance!
15. Susana Florencio
Crystal City March, violin performance.
Click HERE to see her performance!
16. Lezly Hernandez
We Belong Together, Mariah Carey.
Click HERE to see her performance!
17. Corrina Little
Jar of Hearts, by Christina Perri, piano performance.
Click HERE to see her performance!

Congratulations to our 3 winners:
First Place:
Corrina Little

Second Place:
Susana Florencio

Third Place:
Bridget Ruggiero

Emcee

William “Prez” Bush
William “Prez” Bush performs all original funky rock and soul.
www.reverbnation.com/funkyprez

Thank you to our Judges

Theresa Brown (center)
Newburgh Enlarged City School District
Seth Soloway (right)
Creative Director, Railroad Playhouse
www.rrplayhouse.org
Bill Yost (left)
Former Director of Cultural Affairs, United States Military
Academy at West Point

Special Thanks

Theresa Brown, Seth Soloway and Bill Yost
William Bush
Imperial Guitar
Angelo Monge
Newburgh Enlarged City School District
Ritz Theater Board of Directors
Ritz Theater Programming Committee
Safe Harbors of the Hudson Staff
The Parents and Teachers of our performers