Jimmy Vivino

Jimmy Vivino

Vivino at the Beacon, December 2013.
Background information
Birth name James Vivino
Also known as Jimmy V
Born January 10, 1955
Paterson, New Jersey, United States
Genres Rock and roll, jazz, R&B
Occupation(s) Musician, producer, Music director, Bandleader
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards, trumpet
Associated acts Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band, The Max Weinberg 7, The Fab Faux, Frankie and the G Strings, The Vivino Brothers, The J-Band, The Black Italians, The Jimmy Vivino Band, Jimmy Vivino and the Rekooperators, Prisoners of 2nd Avenue, The Levon Helm Band
Website jimmyvivino.com

Jimmy Vivino (born January 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, keyboard player, singer, producer,[1] and music director. He is best known as the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band, the house band on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and its predecessor, Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC. Vivino has also played with many rock bands, which most recently has included being a member of Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux.

He is the younger brother of longtime New Jersey TV host Floyd Vivino, a.k.a. Uncle Floyd, and the Basic Cable Band bandmate Jerry Vivino.

Biography

Vivino grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where he attended Glen Rock High School.[2] He had an interest in music from a young age. He began working in New York clubs in the early 1980s[3] and in 1984 was musical director of the play Leader of the Pack.[4][5] Later he led "Jimmy Vivino and the Black Italians" and worked with Al Kooper.[6] Kooper considered Vivino to be one of his "discoveries" and had him as musical director for fifteen years.

Vivino serves as the music director on the TBS late-night program Conan. Vivino has been a consistent element in O'Brien's late night career, starting with the first episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien in September 1993. In June of 2008, Vivino moved from New York to Los Angeles and worked as music director/guitarist/arranger on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, and currently leads Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on Conan.

When not appearing weeknights on TBS, Vivino divides his time between recording sessions and live gigs throughout the country. In addition to his solo work, Vivino plays with the successful Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux.[7] Vivino has also recorded and played live with such legends as Johnnie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm, and Al Kooper. Earlier in his career, Jimmy got his start producing playing and arranging for such artists as Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, John Sebastian, and Donald Fagen.

Partial discography

Filmography

Crew

Composer

Himself

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jazz Times, pg 105
  2. ↑ Jimmy Vivino: Biography. Accessed February 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ Billboard Jul 3, 1999, pg 7
  4. ↑ The Palm Beach Post - Feb 24, 1984
  5. ↑ The sound of Broadway music: a book of orchestrators and orchestrations by Steven Suskin, pg 595
  6. ↑ The New York Times: Sounds Around Town: On New Year's Eve by JON PARELES Published: December 31, 1993
  7. ↑ Larry Getlen (December 29, 2013). "The Fab Four is the ultimate tribute band". New York Post. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ Do What, Now? at AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2015.

External links