Randy Napoleon

CLICK ON THE STORES IMAGE TO BUY CD ;)Michael Bublé calls him "the most exciting guitarist of our generation." Detroit Free Press critic Mark Stryker says he "plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation." And in Lansing Michigan's City Pulse, Lawrence Cosentino says "each note hangs, suspended with raindrop clarity from its bough of melody, on up-tempo tunes as well as ballads."It's no surprise that Randy Napoleon, who has been compared to Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass, is one of the most sought after guitarists in New York today. His recently released CD, Between Friends, has been drawing praise from all quarters. Currently, he is working with his trio to develop music for a third album.Napoleon's career took off one month after moving to New York City, when he joined pianist Benny Green's trio and achieved international exposure. Since that auspicious debut, he continued to make a name for himself as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz guitar tradition. He played many major European festivals and toured Japan with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (CHJO), named by readers of Downbeat Magazine as best big band in 2003 and by Jazz Times as #2 big band in 2005. Napoleon's connection to this LA-based Jazz Orchestra dates back to his college days, when Jeff Hamilton heard him perform with the University of Michigan Big Band. In 2004, he appeared on a TV special in Tokyo with CHJO, and in 2005, he recorded with them (Live at MCG Jazz).In the fall of 2004, he began a three-year tour with Bublé. Since then, he has appeared with the top-of-the-charts crooner on TV in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, Sydney, Toronto (Canada AM and CityLine) and the U.S. (Letterman; Leno; The View; Today, Regis and Kelly; The Ellen DeGeneres Show; a PBS special, Caught in the Act; The Radio Music Awards, Dancing with the Stars), on BBC radio, and on the stages of prestigious music halls all over the globe.In January 2007, he returned to London to appear on BBC radio and in clubs with his own trio to celebrate the release of Between Friends. The trio, a collaboration with organist Jared Gold and drummer Quincy Davis, continues to attract attention internationally. Napoleon has played with other major artists including Rodney Whitaker and Rick Roe, with master band leaders Grady Tate and Freddy Cole, and with top cabaret performers, including Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano. He has formed partnerships with some of the finest musicians of his own generation, among them Josh Brown, Gerald Clayton, Julius Tolintino and Sachal Vasandani.When he isn't on the road, Randy Napoleon performs in New York City. Whatever the setting, he always is happy to pick up his guitar and play.