Frank Gambale
| Frank Gambale | |
|---|---|
 Gambale performing in Montréal in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 22 December 1958 |
| Origin | Canberra, Australia[1] |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, smooth jazz, jazz, instrumental rock |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | Legato, Victor, Favored Nations, Wombat |
| Associated acts | Chick Corea Elektric Band, Vital Information, GHS, Return to Forever |
| Website | frankgambale.com |
Frank Gambale (born 22 December 1958)[2] is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released eleven studio albums over a period of more than two decades, and is renowned for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.
Recording career
Gambale graduated from the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, with Student of the Year honors. He also taught there from 1984 to 1986.[3] After graduation, he played the jazz club circuit with his own band and in 1985 released his first studio album, Brave New Guitar, through Legato Records (owned by Mark Varney, brother of Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney) in what was to be a three-album contract. In that same year, he toured with Jean-Luc Ponty and shortly afterwards began a six-year stint with the Chick Corea Elektric Band in 1987. During his time with the latter, he has participated in five albums and shared a Grammy Award (with two nominations).
In the 1980s, he released two studio albums and a live album. In 1988, he released Monster Licks & Speed Picking, the first of many instructional videos. An endorsement deal with Ibanez guitars resulted in the 1987 debut of the Frank Gambale Model (FGM) signature series, modeled after the Ibanez S. Yamaha also manufactured a signature guitar after he left Ibanez later in the 1990s. He signed with Victor Entertainment in 1989 as part of a five-album agreement, and released Thunder from Down Under the following year.
The 1990s began for Gambale with a pair of albums—Truth in Shredding (1990) and Centrifugal Funk (1991)—as part of The Mark Varney Project. These were collaborations with fellow guitarists Allan Holdsworth, Brett Garsed and Shawn Lane, in a jazz fusion supergroup concept put together by Mark Varney.[4] Around this time, he served as head of the guitar department of the Los Angeles Music Academy.[3] In the 2000s, having parted ways with Victor, Gambale started his own record label named Wombat Records after purchasing his entire Legato discography with the intention of reissuing it himself. A live double album, Resident Alien – Live Bootlegs, was released in 2001, along with Imagery Suite; a duet featuring classical guitarist Maurizio Colonna. He also released a studio album, Coming to Your Senses, on guitarist Steve Vai's Favored Nations label in 2000.
Gambale has also been a member of the jazz fusion band Vital Information since 1988, with the group consisting of keyboardist Tom Coster, drummer Steve Smith and bassist Baron Browne. Furthermore, in a group known as GHS, he has released three collaborative albums with Steve Smith and bassist Stu Hamm through Mike Varney's jazz-orientated label, Tone Center Records. In addition to concert recordings, he released an instructional DVD called Concert with Class in 2003. A reunion with Chick Corea came about in 2004, and Gambale subsequently toured with the Chick Corea Elektric Band. In 2006 and 2010, he released two all-jazz studio albums in the form of Natural High and Natural Selection, respectively. In 2011, he endorsed the Carvin FG1, a thin hollow body guitar made in the US.
Influence
Gambale has been featured on the covers of many guitar and jazz-orientated magazines worldwide, whilst having being cited as an influence by many notable guitarists including Synyster Gates,[5] Dweezil Zappa,[6] Greg Howe,[7] and Pat Metheny [8]
Discography
Studio albums
- 1985: Brave New Guitar
- 1987: A Present for the Future
- 1990: Thunder from Down Under
- 1991: Note Worker
- 1993: The Great Explorers
- 1994: Passages
- 1995: Thinking Out Loud
- 2000: Coming to Your Senses
- 2004: Raison D'être
- 2006: Natural High
- 2010: Natural Selection
Live albums
- 1989: Live!
- 2001: Resident Alien – Live Bootlegs
- 2002: Absolutely Live - In Poland
- 2007: Made in Australia (with Virgil Donati and Ric Fierabracci)
Compilation albums
- 2006: Best of Jazz & Rock Fusion
- 2006: Best of the Smooth Jazz Side
- 2006: Best of the Acoustic Side
The Mark Varney Project
- 1990: Truth in Shredding (with Allan Holdsworth)
- 1991: Centrifugal Funk (with Brett Garsed and Shawn Lane)
Stuart Hamm and Steve Smith
- 1998: Show Me What You Can Do
- 2000: The Light Beyond
- 2002: GHS 3
Maurizio Colonna
- 2000: Imagery Suite (Also known as Playgame)
- 2005: Live (with Maurizio Colonna)
- 2007: Bon Voyage
Chick Corea Elektric Band
- 1987: Light Years
- 1988: Eye of the Beholder
- 1990: Inside Out
- 1991: Beneath the Mask
- 1996: The Songs of West Side Story
- 2004: To the Stars
- 2004: Chick Corea Elektric Band Live at Montreux DVD
GRP
- 1988: GRP Super Live in Concert
Vital Information
- 1988: Fiafiaga
- 1991: Vital Live
- 1992: Easier Done Than Said
- 1996: Ray Of Hope
- 1998: Where We Come From
- 2000: Live Around the World
- 2000: Live From Mars
- 2002: Show 'em Where You Live
- 2004: Come On In
Video releases
- 1988: Monster Licks & Speed Picking
- 1991: Modes: No More Mystery
- 1997: Improvisation Made Easier
- 2000: Chopbuilder: The Ultimate Guitar Workout
- 2003: Concert with Class
- 2007: Acoustic Improvisation
Instructional books
- The Frank Gambale Technique Book Part I
- The Frank Gambale Technique Book Part II
- Improvisation Made Easier
- The Best of Frank Gambale
References
- ↑ "Biography". frankgambale.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ↑ Gilbert, Mark (2002). "Gambale, Frank". In Barry Kernfeld. The new Grove dictionary of jazz, vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. pp. 8–9. ISBN 1561592846.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hallebeek, Richard (2001-10-20). "Frank Gambale (2001)". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ↑ Monk, Laurie (2010-06-13). "Truth In Shredding: Mark Varney: Legato interview with Laurie Monk". Retrieved 2010-07-04.
- ↑ http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/avenged-sevenfold39s-zacky-vengeance-amp-synyster-gates/8805
- ↑ http://cheapelectricguitar.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/frank-gambaledweezil-zappa-dweezil-explains-how-gambale-advanced-his-technique
- ↑ http://www.alloutguitar.com/interviews/greg-howe-interview-fusion-maestro
- ↑ http://www.frankgambale.com/frank_gambale_quotes.html "I'd like to take a month off and study with Frank Gambale to improve my playing technique."
External links
| |||||||||||||||||
|