Jim Campilongo - Two Guitars - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Chris Byars - Music of Duke Jordan [COMPACT DISCS] date 08/05/2014

The extraordinary pairing of Jim Campilongo and Steve Cardenas has been a rewarding one for the two guitarists, who have been performing in tandem for the past twenty years. Though they have recorded together before, the pair had never released an album of this grouping. The opportunity was seized when Campilongo was planning his return to the Bay Area, the pair realizing the project that was always simmering and needed to be put to a boil. The result is their fantastic new album, New Year.Campilongo moved to New York City from California in 2002, becoming enmeshed in the local rock and singer/songwriter scene, most notably with his own trio and as a member of The Little Willies with Norah Jones. It was around this time that he was introduced to Cardenas, through a mutual friend singer/songwriter Richard Julian. The two immediately connected and a fast friendship turned into a mutual admiration society from their first time playing together.

Honeyfingers' guitarist Luca Benedetti and Campilongo co-produced Last Night, This Morning, which covers the 20-year recording career of Jim Campilongo - going back to his debut Jim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats all the way through his latest genre-defying compositions that can only be described as having that InchCampilongoInch sound. Alongside the Honeyfingers crew of pedal steel guitar virtuoso Jonny Lam (David Byrne, Sinkane), guitarist/arranger Luca Benedetti (Ron Carter, The Dang-it Bobbys), gypsy jazz guitarist Roy Williams (Stephane Wremberl, Alex Hargreaves), bassist David Speranza (Ingrid Jensen), and drummer Russ Meissner (Sean Smith Quartet, Loren Stillman), Campilongo's Last Night, This Morning is a showcase of top-notch artistry, extraordinary chemistry, and sheer joy. It's undeniably Campilongo's finest recording to date; a singular collection unlike any other.