Friday, July 24, 2009

The Guitar Style of Al Caiola


Liner Notes:
CAIOLA AT HIS BEST - PLUS 5 TOP GUITARS!
Al Caiola is hotter than a pistol in the ping-pong percussion album department. His L.P.’s are high on the best-seller charts and lavishly displayed in record stores across the U.S. But prior to his ascendancy as “ping-pong” champ, Al was long known to the inner circles of music as one of the best guitar picker in America. Audio acrobatics aside, this is the first thing you’d ask of a performer — solid musicianship.
In this album, the manifold musical talents of Al Caiola are artfully showcased as follows: (1) Al has tastefully arranged this fine collection of standard hits for purely pleasant listening, if that’s your mood; (2) Al himself plays lead guitar with style and grace—here is virtuoso guitar; (3) he has surrounded himself with the All-Stars—five of the lightest-fingered gentry in the “pickin’” business, as guitar aficionados will quickly realise by a glance at the performer credits on this page. Notable also in the rhythm section is the redoubtable Don Lamond on drums, one of the great modern stick men.
Repertoire in the album ranges all the way from Sweet Georgia Brown, introduced and co-written by the late great bandleader Ben Bernie, to Tumbling Tumbleweeds, the 1934 hit of top Western songwriter Bob Nolan and one of the first country-style tunes to make it big in the “pop” market. Featured too is the top novelty ditty, Dipsy Doodle, written in 1937 by Larry Clinton Of big swing band fame.
For virtuoso solo guitar backed by a guitar ensemble extra-ordinaire, or for just plain pleasant listening, this is your album.

SIDE 1 SWEET GEORGIA BROWN • DIPSY DOODLE
• IT’S A SIN TO TELL A LIE • TUMBLING TUMBLE-
WEEDS • STRAIT AHEAD

SIDE 2 HINDUSTAN • I LOVE YOU • IDAHO •
ROSETTA • UNDECIDED

Leader (Solo Guitar) ............ Al Caiola
Guitars ................................... George Barnes, Al Casamente, Don Arnone, John Pizzarelli, Billy Bauer
Bass ........................................ Sandy Block
Drums .................................... Don Lamond
Vibes ...................................... Phil Kraus, Ed Costa

Click here to download the album.