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Melinda Whitehouse, AMG While many live recordings try to reproduce the "live experience" with crowd noise and long improvisations, this one strives to demonstrate what it is that Campilongo does best. Campilongo proves his ability as a composer with the sweet, reserved genius of "Lipton Tea" and the plaintive country ballad "Molly Harvey." ... With only the occasional smattering of applause or Campilongo's soft "thank you" to betray its live status, this record stands as an original, definitive Campilongo effort.
Michael Ross, No Depression September 10, 2001: Jim Campilongo at the Knitting Factory, New York City "The next day the world would change forever, but on this Monday night San Franciscan Jim Campilongo's brand of Jimmy Bryant meets Thelonious Monk music had its New York debut in the subterranean Old Office room of Manhattan's Knitting Factory. [...] The Knitting Factory is known for presenting edgy, arty, avant music that defies genre. Jim Campilongo's art is firmly rooted in tradition but derives its edge from sheer, uncompromising Personality, with a capital "P". It doesn't try to be dissonant, though it sometimes is. It doesn't try to be ironic or clever. In fact, it doesn't try to be anything except passionate and moving, at which it admirably succeeds..."
Billboard
Magazine "...
A bridge between the big sky and the big city, "Table For One" is Americana
at its most touching " Billboard
Magazine "...
A walking encyclopedia of the guitar ...Campilongo writes evocative original
material along with reinventing such smoky favorites as "Harlem Nocturne'" Adam Levy Guitar
Player Magazine "Campilongo
has created a collection of alternately moody and catchy instrumentals
showcasing his darkly romantic melodicism and absolutely pristine tone
... Campilongo tips his hat now and then in the direction of Roy Buchanan,
which is fine. Coming from Campilongo, it's a heartfelt tribute, not a
forgery." Adam
Levy Stereophile
Magazine 4 STARS "... Masters of slick-as-a-card-trick exchanges and somber lyricism, these guys neatly sidestep the pitfalls that entrap many non jazz instrumentalists. Campilongo's originals possess strong themes and avoid homogeneity. There's no wasted space in these tunes ...And what solos! Campilongo - the guitarist in the NHT room at Stereophile's Hi-Fi '97 - is a strenuously progressive improviser whose sonically adventurous playing is informed by jazz, blues, and experimental sensibilities ...Campilongo and the Cats may have one foot firmly planted in the past, but with 'Loose' they've taken one more powerful stride forward." Steve
Stolder Guitar
Shop Magazine "San
Francisco picker Jim Campilongo is reviving the spirit of classic country-jazz,
albeit with a delightfully skewed '90's approach . . . Campilongo possesses
slick flatpicking chops and a great Tele tone . . .No question this disc
is a must for Teleheads and starving country-jazzers alike". Vintage
Guitar Magazine "LOOSE
features 11 exceptionally eclectic tunes (nine of which were written by
Jim C.) and a whole lot of sonic variety ... on behalf of all eclectic
instrumental music fans, I'd like to personally thank Jim, Joe and the
great rhythm section of Chris Kee (bass) and Ken Owen (drums) for their
wonderfully eclectic tastes and continuing to make quality music in one
of today's most (unfortunately) commercially under appreciated genres." Jim
Hilmar SF
Bay Guardian On
this superb debut, the Bay Area's Jim Campilongo ... provides enough playfulness
for the scenemakers, guitar pyrotechnics for the six-string idolaters,
and sheer musical bite and delight for everyone else." Derek
Richardson "Over
the past few years, self-effacing picker Jim Campilongo and his pedal
steel foil have worked their way to the head of the (instrumental guitar
music) class by updating and personalizing the country and western swing
legacies of such rock-eclipsed masters as Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, Eldon
Shamblin, Leon McCauliffe, Tom Brumley, Don Rich, and Lloyd Green ...
" Derek
Richardson August
98 - Review of "Table for One" in Arts & Entertainment "Campilongo
redefines country as the landscape of his own soul ... In brief, it's
the sort of Americana guitar jazz that will sound familiar to fans of
Bill Frisell, supremely lyrical and slightly bent but without Frisellian
forays into feedback and noise. 'Table for One' is, more importantly,
a deeply felt expression of Campilongo's innermost muse ... And by the
ending with a reflective reading of 'This Old Man' accented by acoustic
bass, brushes, and wistful accordion, Campilongo shows that his concept
of roots music has more to do with sentiment than geography". Derek
Richardson San Francisco Chronicle "LOOSE" ... combines the band's typical wackiness with a new, haunting depth ... a dizzy mix of roadhouse swing, eerie ballads, and hillbilly rock ... an exhilarating range of musical dispositions, from festive to penetrating, and is perfect for any turntable in any mood.
Dave
Ford January
97 - "CATCH 'EM WHILE YOU CAN" "JIM CAMPILONGO, a guitarist so extraordinary
that music magazines beg for transcriptions of his cowboy-jazz riffs..." Jane
Ganahl "Campilongo's
western swing orientation is a launching pad for some of the city's most
adventurous musicianship. . . Campilongo channels the versatility of Chet
Atkins and the tone and volume of hotshot blues player Roy Buchanan into
guitar lines that speak". BAM
Magazine Wrenching
his Tele, scratching out Hank Garland and Speedy West licks with total
ease and beauty, ripping out a version of "Harlem Nocturne" (with the
late Danny Gatton looking down and smiling, no doubt) and rolling out
every Roy Nichols/Don Rich/Grady Martin lick ever recorded. I was totally
won over! I didn't pick up my own guitar for a week . . . A primer for
those who've burned out on the limited repertoires of country rockers,
this is a bit of homemade arcane that will dazzle your socks off". Johnny
Angel "
'Loose' is filled with well-crafted songs, psychedelic guitar work, and
complex harmonies. " Country
Standard Time Magazine "Campilongo
has certainly done his homework... 'Loose' richly deserves a place up
there with the work of the Hellecasters in the pantheon of hot country
guitar records of the '90's. " Jon
Johnson May
16, 97 - 'Loose' named "Record to Watch" and "Chartbound" "... I can't
say enough good things about San Francisco's own Jim Campilongo and Joe
Goldmark ... (Loose is) not only a record to watch, but one to play and
play again. Campilongo and company set their strings afire on tune after
tune. Loosen up and get on this one." Americana
Columnist Rob Bleetstein "[Campilongo]
has chops galore and ideas to match. He attacks swing licks with a down-home
raunch and sense of humor ..." www.bigzines.com |
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