Music

Downbeat, Dec 2006 — "He plays with dash and color, the sound of surprise informing his tone and lines, at complete ease in a country jazz-and-extras style...."

Village Voice, Sept 2006 — "From the man who channels his mood swings equally with his axe swings, local guitar maven Campilongo takes his (as Jim Macnie so accurately coined) "Twangadelica" stepwise into gorgeousness... Bow down and take communion when he warbles out the drugged out mega-reverbeb version of "Cry Me A River". Bravo!"

Guitar World, 2006 — "...his unrushed approach and generous tone create a comfortable, burnished grace that's distictly all his own"

Guitar One, Dec 2006 — "[Heaven is Creepy] is at once off-center and accessible; it should appeal to guitar fans of all stripes."

Blues Review, Feb 2007 — "a daring performance ... Not angelic but damnably good"

USA TODAY — "...Cry Me a River - an eerie instrumental filled with his rubbery twang-jazz improvisations..."

Editor Amazon.com — "Like virtuosi as different from each other as Chet Atkins, Jeff Beck, and Pat Metheny--each of whom Campilongo's music occasionally recalls--he's more concerned with tone, timbre, and space than with show-off runs of hot-licks speed"

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Blues Revue, Dec 2003

"A noted Tele-twangler returns: the new album (AMERICAN HIPS) offers the best of blues, country,and jazz, from the sublime to the sick... immaculate chord-melody work... avant-roots meet uptown grit..."

Direct From Finland...

Finnish Newspaper "Keskisuomalainen" gives American Hips 4 Stars ( Oct 2003 )
"Campilongo guitar plays like magic!"
"Jim Campilongo is the most interesting thing to come out of the Blues front in along time. As a guitarist Campilongo is a real master and stunning improviser."

Guitar Player Magazine, November 2003

Tele Master Jim Campilongo lets 'er rip on American Hips - easily his best effort to date. The components of Campilongo's sound are simple - wire, wood, and hands - just like his hero, Roy Buchanan. And, like Buchanan, Campilongo treats every note like his last. But Campilongo isn't simply a Buchanan devotee. Underneath the exposed-nerve twang lurks a dark compositional sense. Think of what it would sound like if Roy Nichols was asked to record the soundtrack to the film-noir classic "The Big Sleep", and you'll get the idea. "American Hips" also features two tracks with Grammy bogarter Norah Jones, who lends beautiful vocal perfomances on "Stella" and "Sweet Dreams." Go do your inspirational muse some good and get "American Hips." It's a great record by a player who just keeps getting better.
- Darrin Fox

No Depression Magazine #47, September 2003

It is easy to have your own sound on guitar -- just play what you feel. So why do so most guitarists sound like carbons of other guitarists? They work very hard at it; sitting in their rooms for days copying famous licks, thus gaining presold acceptance. Jim Campilongo obviously put in serious listening time, but somehow it got filtered through a sensitive, fiery, quirky, personality, coming out fresh and distinctive. (Warning -- excessive practicing during the Wonder years can prevent developing a personality.) This guitarist wrings the elements of his soul through a Telecaster and puts them on display for the public. Scary stuff, and another reason so few attempt it. Luckily Campilongo's courageous exposure provides us with the naked romanticism of "Between Your Toes", the carnival wackyiness of "Like, Hello?", and the swampy grit of "Jim's Blues" -- this a person that you want to know. Another distinctive voice, Nora Jones, helps out on "Sweet dreams and Stella". Critic Paul Williams once said, "We meet the artists who are important to us in those works of theirs in which they meet themselves" Campilongo meets himself every time he picks up his instrument; that brand of artistic bravery is rare and to be treasured.

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SF Examiner, Feb 2000

The opening strains of the newest work by The City's own guitar god are only faintly heard in the background: what sounds like the ominous opening of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung." But it's only a momentary flash -- an omen, if you will -- before Campilongo plunges headlong into his most satisfying, and yes, heaviest, album yet.

The hard-working picker, who has made a home of the club-within-a-club upstairs at the Paradise, has made another album of dazzling Western swing-meets-jazz-meets blues-meets-country, which has become his patented trademark. I love the Spaghetti Western flavor of "Sergio vs. the Moth," the sweet melancholy of "Tiramisu" and the honky-tonk of "Tic Toc," which makes you want to put on your cowboy boots and line dance. Campilongo stretched a bit on this one, and came up with a winner.
-- Jane Ganahl

SF Weekly, Feb 2000

"Somewhere between modern blues of the late Danny Gatton, the out-there jazz of John McLaughlin, and the western swing jangle and twang of Jimmy Bryant, Campilongo's guitar work is precise and studied, but always stoked with something intangible and deeper."

"The band's first two records, an eponymous 1996 album and 1997's Loose, were the sound of Campilongo maturing from a fine country-inflected jazz guitarist into a songwriter; there are moments on Loose, like "Above Paradise" or "The Girl With Red Eyes," that are almost Ellington-esque in terms of musicianship, color, and mood. 1998's Table for One finished the job."

"For the new 10 Gallon Cats record, Heavy -- officially out on the 24th at a release party at the Paradise -- Campilongo's struck a deal between his country-jazz background and his strengths as a composer. Bounding from mournful ballads like "Tiramisu" and "Like Butter" to off-kilter swing tracks like "Mozart Woulda Played a Tele" to the Morricone-styled "Dagger Through My Heart" and the trucker rock of "Tic Toc," it's Campilongo's most inventive and complex album, as well as his most playful."
- Mark Athitakis

Guitar Player Magazine, June 2000

One of San Francisco's best-kept secrets, Telecaster-wielding Jim Campilongo possesses a wacky sense of humor, lunatic technique, and a fat, snarling tone. Until now Campilongo has displayed two sides: With his band, the 10 Gallon Cats, he recorded two albums of what could be best described as demented hillbilly instrumentals. And on his solo CD, the moody Table for One, he sounded as if he was scoring a film about love gone wrong. On Heavy [Blue Hen Records], however, his two muses merge in a swirling melange of twisted Western swing, skewed Bakersfield twang, ominous surf, and over-the-limit, hot-rod jazz. Backed by the 10 Gallon Cats (which features monster pedal steeler Joe Goldmark), Campilongo weaves snappy lines and tremolo-drenched voicings in a moving homage to Ennio Morricone, Link Wray, and Hank Marvin. Imagine Jimmy Bryant's hair-trigger reflexes hitched to Roy Buchanan's restless spirit. Better yet, pick up Heavy and dig just how much sound one guy can coax out of six strings and an amp.

San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 2000

Guitarist Jim Campilongo shows off his songwriting chops in addition to his jaw-dropping technical ability on his latest album. "Pat and Patsy" hints at the playful tone that dominates Heavy, sampling a toy Microjammer Country Pickin' Geetar lick before diving headlong into a barn burner featuring fiery interplay between Campilongo and pedal steel virtuoso Joe Goldmark. As spectacular as the duo's fretwork might be, the intelligence and economy of their playing is even more impressive. "Sergio Versus the Moth" finds Leone's classic theme to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly butting up against "Flight of the Bumblebee" in a creatively comical jaunt that takes as many twisting, stylistic turns as one of John Zorn and Naked City's Mancini deconstructions. Campilongo tempers the humor by mixing in a number of less whimsical tunes, wringing out some of his heaviest, most emotive playing on the CD over a thick foundation laid by bassist Chris Kee and drummer Ken Owen.

TipWorld

Heavy is the new collection of instrumentals from San Francisco guitarist Jim Campilongo and his band of swinging cowboys, The 10 Gallon Cats. As on Campilongo's first self-titled CD (1996) as well as Loose (1997), his duets with pedal steel guitarist Joe Goldmark are at the center of the music. Campilongo and Goldmark have brought new life to the jazzy country instrumental, a style that was pioneered by teams like Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West in the 1950s and James Burton and Ralph Mooney in the early 1960s. Unlike their predecessors, who tended to ignore rock 'n' roll, Campilongo and Goldmark gleefully add a liberal dose of the stuff to the venerable jazz and country mix. Tracks like "Dagger through My Heart," which features Dave Boat rapping in Italian, and "Sergio Versus the Moth," with its mix of Ennio Morricone-inflected guitar tones and Japanese monster noises, take country guitar to strange new places. But when Campilongo and Goldmark get down to twanging, as they do on the western swing-flavored "Mozart Woulda Played a Tele," the sweet and slow "Tiramisu," or the country stomp of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," you know that, no matter how far-out the music gets, their hearts secretly beat to a honky-tonk rhythm.
-Michael Simmons, TipWorld Country Music Columnist

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July '98 - Review of "Table For One"

"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

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 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".
-Derk Richardson

Music Millennium, February 1999

"At the top of my 'Top Ten Records' for 1998 is Jim Campilongo's latest release, 'Table For One.' The bell-like fender Telecaster match up with a Fender amp is incredibly expressive in Campilongo's hands. In a recent conversation with the guitarist, he said that this was the kind of record he would like to put on while having his morning coffee. I would elect to have a second cup and sit, listen and savor this wonderful record."
- Allen Jones

Axe Magazine (Italy), cover story - January 98

"Jim Campilongo, now on his third album, is one of the treasures of American music, in terms of the guitar...Table for One is his most mature and refined album - an entirely instrumental work, of a mostly 'after hours' tone and mood..."

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Vintage Guitar Magazine, Spotlight, June '97

"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 underappreciated genres." - Jim Hilmar

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 exhiliarating range of musical dispositions, from festive to penetrating, and is perfect for any turntable in any mood. - Dave Ford

Citysearch.com (Austin), Band to Watch, March 98

" '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

Gavin Report (America's most Trusted Name in Radio)

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

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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".

Hi-Fi Reviews, July 98

"[Campilongo] has chops galore and ideas to match. He attacks swing licks with a down-home raunch and sense of humor ..."

www.bigzines.com, Jan '97

"The CATs' first CD knocked off our proverbial socks... Imagine Western Swing with a hint of sassy jazz, an updated 90s feel,and you'll be on the right track for this talented group."

SF Bay Guardian, May 97

"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 ... " -Derk Richardson

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Cahl's Juke Joint: A rock, blues and jazz blog

Jazz guitarists Jimmy Ponder, Joe Pass and Kenny Burrell recorded some of my favorite Christmas albums ever. Put Jim Campilongo's "Almost Christmas," released last year, on the list too.

He merrily grooves through the album's eight tunes. The difference between Campilongo and the aforementioned masters is he plays jazz with a twang. He and his bandmates — Bobby Black on pedal steel, Chris Kee on bass and Ken Owen on drums — sound like they spent the night before pounding eggnog while listening to classic records by Bob Willis and Wes Montgomery. I'm betting both Willis and Montgomery would dig the album's instrumentals: "Jingle Bells," "Christmas Guitarilongo" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

A variety of singers add folksy vocals to tracks such as "Old Toy Trains," "Mom and Dad's Waltz" and "All I Want for Christmas is You." The singers are good, but Campilongo's Telecaster and Black's pedal steel produce the joyful noises that make "Almost Christmas" a great holiday album.

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