Search - Mel Bay Bucky Pizzarelli - Favorite Solos (featuring Frank Vignola) on DVD

Sets the standard

Charles A. Cooper | Jacksonville, Florida USA | 09/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This video gets five stars on a number of counts.

First, the production and sound quality is absolutely the best I have ever seen on an educational/performance DVD of this type. The use of two cameras is absolutely necessary when you have two performers of this caliber. The camera work consistently reveals their hands to the viewer so guitar students can see exactly what is going on. Nothing is concealed and there are no silly distracting facial closeups, etc. Perfect camera work.

The editing is super. The editor knows exactly when to shift attention to whichever player is doing something of interest. I have never seen better.

Then there are the performances. Though generations apart in age, Bucky and Frank were meant to play together. This duo is reminiscent of classic lineups like George Barnes and Karl Kress. (Bucky and George were not to shabby either). At this point in time Bucky is probably the greatest Rhythm guitarist on the planet. The contrast in tone between his densely toned 7 string Benedetto and Frank's lighter-toned semi gypsy model is perfect and musical. Frank comps so beautifully when he is not soloing. The song choices are excellent and are what these guys do best. They also have some fun together and do some unexpected things.

All in all this makes for a Perfect jazz performance video which can be enjoyed just for the performances as well as for learning."

This Jazz Guitar Duo is suberb

P. Korduba | New Jersey | 11/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bucky and Frank interplay on 14 Jazz melodies. The video is shot with good views of their fingering and picking techniques. Great musicianship and a great learning video."

"Great performance video"

L. Stanford | Texas | 06/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Previous reviewers have already written most of what I might say about this video so redundancy isn't needed.There are a few things I might point out.The first being that until recently there was almost no video of Bucky playing,especially in close-up for his fret work.I bartered for some home video shot at a jazz fest several years ago,and that was about all I could find.So this video and the few others that are now available are really special to me.For years I have been collecting all of the books that Bucky wrote on guitar and it took a long time to find them.By watching this video and comparing the fingerings to his books,I have figured out a small percentage of how he does those amazing chord based solos.For guitar students it will be a challenge to figure out how he does some of it.Being a fan for several years and listening to a stack of Bucky CDs,I recognised many of the licks he uses so well.
Frank Vignola gets a nod from Bucky during the video as the American successor to Django,and I agree with that considereing some of his other performances along with how he plays Nuages on this vdeo so tastefully.
If you are a Bucky fan or a Frank Vignola fan,this video will be a pleasure to view over and over again.I highly recommend it to any jazz guitar fan."

Its in my heavy rotation

Max Lamboy | nyc | 02/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I just paid full price(gift card) and It's worth every penny. Two gifted players playing jazz classics.

They are better live but, I never followed up on Mr Pizzarelli's offer to come over for a lesson. boo hoo.

For me this is a lesson and a high water mark in jazz guitar videos. I hope along with John Mclaughlin, Birelli Lagrene and Bucky Pizzarelli, others will bring it up a notch for our learning and listening pleasure."