Jim Campilongo (born July 8, 1958) is a New York

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

guitarist, known for recording a series of mostly instrumental albums. He is also known for being a member of The Little Willies with

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

. Campilongo primarily plays

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...

guitars. He employs a hybrid right-hand technique that involves the use of both a plectrum and his fingers. He holds a mandolin pick between his thumb and forefinger while plucking with his middle and fourth fingers. He writes the popular monthly column "Vinyl Treasures" for Guitar Player Magazine

Musical career

Campilongo was born in South San Francisco, California. When he was nine, he discovered

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. He became interested in

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

, saying in one interview, "I knew I liked improvisation and long musical journeys...so I used to buy albums based exclusively on how long the tracks were...That's how I discovered

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

''Live in Japan'', John McLaughlin ''Devotion'', a couple of different

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

albums." Campilongo's career began in the mid-1970s. He studied guitar in San Francisco with Bunnie Gregoire, who taught him to embrace many genres of music, including the work of jazz guitarist George Van Eps and country singer

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

. He used green stamps to buy his first guitar. One of Campilongo's biggest influences at the time was blues guitarist Roy Buchanan. When Campilongo was seventeen he began performing with local bands Radio City, the Rick Slyter Group, The Chromatics, Nancie and the Neighbors and went on to play with Marcus Fillinger and the San Francisco “World Beat” scene that led to a stint in the Renegades of Funk. 1992 was a transitional period when Campilongo formed Van Riff with Tim Wagar, Gene Rifkin and singer Van Riff, an original country group that featured Campilongo. His recording career started in San Francisco in 1996 when he formed Jim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats. After winning a Bammie for Outstanding Americana/Roots Artist, four solo records and countless club and festival performances, Campilongo pulled up stakes. In 2002, he moved to New York City and formed his Electric Trio, which toured Europe and Scandinavia and recorded the album ''American Hips'' for Blue Hen Records. In 2003, he formed the group The Little Willies with

, Richard Julian, Lee Alexander, and Dan Rieser. He has played with Al Anderson, Bright Eyes,

Cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

Steve Cardenas Stephen Antonio Cardenas (born May 29, 1974) is an American martial artist and actor. He is best known for playing the character Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and eventually the Blue Zeo Ranger in ''Po ...

Burning Spear Winston Rodney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian movement, Rastafarian and one of the ...

, Chris Cheek,

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been a guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has wor ...

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Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, producer and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass line ...

, Adam Levy, Sunny Ozell,

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall o ...

Teddy Thompson Teddy Thompson (born 19 February 1976) is an English folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson. He released his first album in 2000. Biography Teddy Thompso ...

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger si ...

and

Campilongo released ''Orange'' in 2010. In 2011, "Awful Pretty, Pretty Awful" was nominated for Best Instrumental Song at the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. His album ''Dream Dictionary'' (2014) included Chris Morrissey (bass) and Josh Dion (drums). Other contributions came from

, who played on two acoustic songs, and

, who sang the album's only vocal on "Here I Am" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

. On ''Last Night, This Morning'' Campilongo joined the Honeyfingers with Luca Benedetti (guitar), Jonny Lam (pedal and lap steel guitar), Roy Williams (acoustic guitar, piano, organ), Dave Speranza (double bass) and Russ Meissner (drums). ''Vintage Guitar'' magazine called it "a brilliant record with magic and artistry". In 2017 Campilongo produced Zephaniah Ohora with co-producer Luca Benedetti that All Music described "…just enough warmth and echo to suggest the softer records emanating from Bakersfield in the '60s and '70s, and that is precisely the right musical bed for OHora". In 2018 Campilongo released
Live at Rockwood
' that included guest artist

. Vintage Guitar Magazine wrote "...there's no doubt Campilongo's playing is a treasure...the live format of this record is the perfect way for his capabilities and uniqueness to be perfectly displayed...the match of Campilongo with Chris Morrissey on bass and Josh Dion on drums is the ideal fit..." In 2020, Campilongo collaborated with Luca Benedetti on the critically acclaimed ''Two Guitars''. The stripped down approach was described b
Guitar Magazine (Japan)
"...Jim and Luca have a telepathic chemistry on this great collection of beautiful originals and wonderfully curated covers on ''Two Guitars''..." The stripped down format was a challenge but the freedom of the duo was exhibited in full flight. GUITARIST UK wrote ”…a musical balm for troubled times..." "...Chopin meets Chet in dreamland..." "...as the effect is by turns sincere, strange and beautiful" and the LP was featured in Guitar Player “STRINGED VICTORY” “…a record forged in shared aspirations, experience, respect, and heart…” “…Campilongo and Benedetti are enormously accomplished players with massive creative palettes” “…one of the many delights of Two Guitars is that you can hear the rapport of the two guitarists unfold right before you on every track…” In 2023 Jim released a duo record with Steve Cardenas (Paul Motion, Charlie Haden)out on Sunnyside Record. Making A Scene wrote “….Compatible almost beyond description, these two guitarists deliver a sonically pleasing dish, that will inevitably both prove relaxing and smile inducing….” New York City Jazz Record wrote “New Year celebrates the artistic relationship of Jim Campilongo and Steve Cardenas” “…their styles are distinctive, yet highly compatible …” “…motivic development, barline-defying phrases and fluid swing…” and Vintage Guitar praised Jim & Steve “their harmonic personalities merge… Six string giants….originals like Campilongo’s ‘Miss Venezuela” are pure acoustic ecstasy” In 2024 Jim is currently releasing Jim Campilongo 4TET record, “She Loved the Coney Island Freak Show” - his 16th record of original material scheduled to be released on vinyl and compact disc in July 2024.

Instruments

For many years, Campilongo's primary guitar was a 1959 Telecaster toploader. In 2010, the

Fender Custom Shop The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, housed within its headquarters complex in Corona, California, Corona, Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop produces spe ...

introduced a limited-edition Campilongo Signature

, and Campilongo has performed live and recorded with examples of his signature model as well. In 2018, he collaborated with

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Chihoe Hahn to create the Hahn Campilongo Model C guitar, an electric guitar based on the Fender Telecaster. Over 2023 and 2024 Jim collaborated with Lumiere Guitars who are based in Buenos Aires. Together they conceived the Jim Campilongo T Model guitar based on the design of a Duosonic with a Firebird humbucking pickup in neck position along with a gold anodized pickguard. https://www.jimcampilongo.com/gear.html Lumiere

Discography

As leader

* ''Jim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats'' (Blue Hen, 1996) * ''Loose'' (Blue Hen, 1997) * ''Table for One'' (Blue Hen, 1998) * ''Heavy'' (Blue Hen, 2000) * ''Live at the Du Nord'' (Ethic, 2000) * ''American Hips'' (Blue Hen, 2003) * ''The Little Willies'' (Milking Bull, 2005) * ''Heaven Is Creepy'' (Blue Hen, 2006) * ''Almost Christmas'' (Blue Hen, 2008) * ''Orange'' (Blue Hen, 2009) * ''For the Good Times'' (Milking Bull, 2012) * ''Dream Dictionary'' (Blue Hen, 2014) * ''Last Night This Morning'' (Blue Hen, 2016) * ''Live at Rockwood Music Hall NYC'' (Blue Hen, 2017) * ''Two Guitars'' with Luca Benedetti (Blue Hen, 2020) * ''New Year'' with Steve Cardenas (Sunnyside, 2023) * ''She Loved the Coney Island Freak Show'' Jim Campilongo 4TET (Blue Hen 2024)

As sideman

, ''Prolonging the Magic'' (Capricorn, 1998) *

, ''...Featuring'' (Blue Note, 2010) * Norah Jones, ''Covers'' (Blue Note, 2012) *

Hazmat Modine Hazmat Modine is a musical group based in New York City and led by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Wade Schuman. Their music is rooted in blues and also touches on Folk music, folk, jazz and World music. The most recent lineup of the ...

, ''Live'' (Jaro Medien, 2014) * Brandi Shearer, ''Close to Dark'' (Amoeba, 2007) * Brandi Shearer, ''Pink Lady'' (Amoeba, 2006) *

, ''Patrick Stewart's Cowboy Classics'' (Sampler, 2016) *

, ''Upfront & Down Low'' (Verve Forecast, 2007) *

, ''I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too'' (Zoe, 2008)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campilongo, Jim Living people People from South San Francisco, California 1958 births American jazz guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from San Francisco Jazz musicians from San Francisco 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians