Joey DeFrancesco - Joey DeFrancesco's Goodfellas (1999)

Joey DeFrancesco, Frank Vignola, Joe Ascione - three musicians who go together like spaghetti, garlic bread and Chianti. And when these Italian jazzers sit down to play together, under don DeFrancesco's leadership...hey fahgettaboutit! Featuring killer chops, humor, and creative, jazzed-up versions of "Italian standards", Joey DeFrancesco's Goofellas deliver a recording you can't refuse.

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Try to imagine the best Italian-American wedding you've ever been to - the people, the food, the style, the love - then set it to some great jazz music, Joey DeFrancesco's Goodfellas. Add this killer band to your next wedding party and be prepared to have the time of your life. Plain and simple, this album is 55 minutes of unabated fun. Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 organ), Frank Vignola (guitar), and Joe Ascione (drums), three outstanding musicians who grew up in typical Italian-American families, play some of the music on which they were raised. Highlights abound on this brilliant concept piece: the kicked-up, jazzy "Volare," the groovy, tasty "Fly Me to the Moon," the energetic, rollicking "Malafemmena," and the beautiful slow dance "Young at Heart." Even Monk's "Evidence," taken at a blistering pace, is right at home in this setting. The Goodfellas wrote a couple of tunes for the occasion as well, none better than the bluesy, gutbucket title track. This band has big-time chops, and this music swings like mad. ~ by Brian Bartolini, AMG.

Concord Jazz, CCD-4845-2, 1999

Recorded 17^th & 18^th March, 1998 At Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California

Musicians:

Joey DeFrancesco - Organ [Hammond B-3]

Frank Vignola - Guitar

Joe Ascione - Drums

Tracks:

01. Speak Softly Love {Larry Kusik, Nino Rota} (5:31)

02. Volare {Francesco Migliacci, Domenico Modugno, Mitchell Parish} (4:16)

03. Fly Me To The Moon (Bart Howard} (5:15)

04. All The Way {Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen} (5:12)

05. Whack 'Em {Joe Ascione} (4:15)

06. Malafemmena {Antonio De Curtis} (4:06)

07. Young At Heart {Carolyn Leigh} (3:51)

08. O Sole Mio {Giovanni Capurro, Eduardo Di Capua} (5:14)

09. Evidence {Thelonious Monk} (4:33)

10. Goodfellas {Joe Ascione, Joey DeFrancesco, Frank Vignola} (6:11)

11. Ya See What I'm Sayin' {Joe Ascione} (4:44)

12. Whack 'Em [Reprise], Tarentella {Joe Ascione} (1:52)

Credits:

Producer - John Burk

Executive Producer - Glen Barros

Recording Engineer - Phil Edwards

Assistant Engineer - Ben Conrad

Mixing Engineer - Phil Edwards at PER, Hayward, CA

Mastering Engineer - George Horn

Director of Product Development - Alexis Davis

Production Manager - David Miller

Art Direction & Design - Add to the noise

Photography - John Abbott