Primary Instrument: Guitar
Vinnie Zummo (212) 961-1713 e-mail vazmusic@aol.com web site: www.vinniezummo.com
Former Joe Jackson guitarist, producer,writer, arranger, sound design, custom hip-hop drum.loops, accordion, & chromatic harmonica. Currently, top call session player, producer, and composer in the NYC area.
Latest Projects: 1.Vinnie’s new highly eclectic album Swinging Guitar Sounds of Young America. Can be ordered at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/zummo2 2.A Retro Cool Bossa Nova Christmas with Vinnie Zummo: A smooth, cool, retro Bossa Nova Christmas album with a lot of jazz guitar. Can be ordered at: www.cdbaby.comwww.cdbaby.com 3. So To Bed …So To Rise: A jazz CD by The Vinnie Zummo Quartet featuring Janice Zummo. Sophisticated jazz arrangements of children’s classics featuring Janice Zummo’s silky vocals and Vinnie’s soloing. (Can be ordered by calling: (212) 961-1713 or at vazmusic@aol.com ) 4. Droppin Like It’s..Sample CD.Hip-hop drum loops & construction kits for Zero-G . Vinnie produced and constructed all of the loops. 5. Kocktail Kollection Authentic Lounge loopz from the 60’s. Over 1. 3 GB’s of greasy, spring reverb laden pieces, steel guitars, cheesy mono synths, vocal lix, guitar “chicks”, jazz guitar octaves, live & machine drumz, lo fi breakz,simulated old lounge record excerpts and hitz, make this a true trip into the oily, lounge lizard, musical past. 6. N.Y.Cutz: Hip-hop drum loops & construction kit CD available for Zero- G/East West in music stores all over the world. Vinnie produced the CD and constructed all of the loops. N.Y. Cutz was awarded the coveted Platinum Award by Future music UK and a Key Buy award by Keyboard magazine in it’s rave review of the CD. 7. N.Y. Cutz Vol.2 Off Da Hook The second CD in the N.Y. Cutz series and one of Zero G’s top sellers. It’s filled with over 1,500 phat beats, vintage keys, wak guitars, skrachin, old skool vocal lix, hi & lo fi live drums, and much more. 8. Shawn Pelton & Vinnie Zummo Escape From The Planet Of The Breaks Sample CD for Zero-G. Steaming, live drum loops featuring Shawn’s burning NYC groove in every kind of live drum setting plus guitars, clavinet, etc…. EQ Magazine did a six page article on Vinnie and the making of this CD in the July 2002 issue. 9. Nu Jointz, N.Y. Cutz Vol.3 A slammin’ collection of cutting edge hip hop beats. 10. Akoustik Bass Hitz Sample CD for Zero G. Jazz great Chip Jackson in a variety of groovez featuring Chip’s bass with matching drum loopz by Vinnie.Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock-A-Billy, Reggae, Ska, Metal, etc…It’s all here and every track features a full rhythm section with trax split out. (For more info on any of the above sample CDS go to: http://www.zero-g.co.uk/) 11. Composed the central theme for the CNN/Brazil channel for their Brazil 500 series celebrating the country’s 5oo year anniversary and nineteen underscore pieces for CNN Headline News/USA. Wrote 3 themes for Japanese News program ”Newsnomori.” 12. Wrote music for As The World Turns and is currently writing for Guiding Light., MTV, and Oprah.. 13. Wrote the music for Dynamic Mind/Body Balancing meditation CD. .14. Vinnie contributed to the Noize & Feedback column in the August 2002 issue of Guitar One Magazine. 15. DTM Magazine in Japan featured Vinnie in a DVD where he shows how he makes his sample CDs. 16. Co wrote 3 songs and is a featured soloist on the CD : Two Trees by Al Jewer and Andy Mitran. 17. Vinnie plays, guitar, accordion, and mandolin on the new CD Tripasaurus vs.Blockhead 18. Is a guest player on the succesful children’s CD Bad Mood Mom and Other Good-mood Songs by Jamie Broza. 19.Vinnie produced and played most of the instruments on the CDs One and Wind & Water by Lew Doty. 20. Did an elevator music arrangement of the song: I Can See Clearly Now for the NicholasCage movie The Weathermen . 21. Vinnie has two new pieces Cocktails at Noon and If You Knew in the John Cusack, DianeLane movie Must Love Dogs. 22. Has written a large amount of music for the new TV Show Can’t Get A Date. 23. Vinnie directed and is featured in 4 product demo videos for Steinberger Guitars. http://www.musicyo.com/steinberger/ 24. Vinnie is currently writing music for Oprah. Recently featured on the “Roadtrip” shows. 25. Produced and arranged Lullabies For Litle Angels by Shirley Gifford. 26. VInnie produced the Wind and Water CD for artist Lew Doty and in addition to doing all the arrangements he plays most of the instruments. 27. Vinnie writes a lot of music for Guiding Light and his song Policeman is featured on the CBS Guiding Light web site. He has two pieces featured on the 15,000th. episode. Albums: With The Joe Jackson Band: Body & Soul Joe Jackson Live 1980-1986 Big World Blaze Of Glory (played 11 gtrs.accrdn & glcknspl on stage.) Will Power Greatest Hits Tucker (Soundtrack) Featured soloist on other albums by: Art Garfunkle (Up Till’Now), Shawn Colvin (Fat City), Roger Daltrey (Rocks in The Head), Paul Carrack (Groove Approved), Marti Jones (Birthday Suit), Dee Carstensen (Regarding The Soul), Nenad Bach (Greatest Hits) Dawn Avery (True), Jamie de Roy (The Child In Me Vol.1 &2), Danny Wilensky (And Then Some) Leslie Nuss (Action Hero Superstar), Ina Mae Wool ”Crack It Open”, Al Jewer & Andy Mitran “Two Trees”, Tripasaurus vs.Blockhead, Jamie Broza “Bad Mood Mom, as well as the self produced Modern Marriage by The Zummos on A&M Records.Vinnie has worked extensively with Producers Mike Maineri (co-produced Why Worry Now with Mike on the Art Garfunkle album Up Till Now.), Neil Dorfsman, Robin Millar, David Kershenbaum, Don Dixon, Mark Adler, Angelo Badalamenti, Francis Ford Coppola, Johnny Caruso, Bashiri Johnson, Dave Katz, Kyle Kelso, Joy Askew, Bill Mann, Richard Ford and others. World Tours: Body & Soul, Big World, & Blaze of Glory Movie Soundtracks: Featured soloist in: Tucker, No Way Home, Queens Logic, The Blood Oranges, Muhammad Ali bio-pic, The Suburbans, The Weathermen , and Must Love Dogs. among others. Jingles : Mercedes, Dawn, Flonaise, Fred Meyers, Therma Care Worker, Therma Care Golf, Mystic Soda, Wrangler Amercan Hero (written up In NY Times,) Mounds, Almond Joy, Oreo Chubby Checker Campaign, Life Savers, Pepsi Woodstock Generation, MCI, Popeye’s Chicken, Maybelline/Europe, and many others. Television: Lands End theme (played nylon gtr.solo) for Paul Stanley, Profiler Theme (electric gtr.fx.) for Angelo Badalamenti, Going Places with Al Roker and HBO Undercover show Dealing Dogs (played accordion, harmonica. gtr.) for Jamie Lawrence, Ed TV show for Ahrin Mishan (harmonica, banjo, guitar,) The New Hollywood Squares Theme (played gtr &hrm ).for Mambo Music, Queer As Folk and cues for the Food Channel for David Baron TV Appearances: Saturday Night live, The Tonight Show, & 2 times on David Letterman (sat in with band, introduced on camera.) MTV “My Sweet Sixteen Show” and “Can’t Get A Date”
Endorsements: Steinberger Guitars, Source Audio,Epiphone Guitars, Gibson Guitars, Labella Strings, Di Marzio Pickups, Source Audio, Fractal Audio Systems, Red Bear Picks, Eventide, Extreme Headphones, Snap On jacks,Vox, Korg, Demeter, Tonefrenzy, Aphek, Pedals, Pigtronix , Glenn Wyllie Pedals, Roland, George L Cables, Roger Linn Designs, Zoom, Samson,, Sans Amp, Marshall Amplifiers.
“There's something sort of touching about how many songs are obvious tributes to specific people . . . and also how there is no obvious connection between them (Earth Wind and Fire and Les Paul?!) In the end it kind of makes me chuckle. It comes across very much as a musician doing something from the heart rather than thinking like an A&R man. And of course there's great playing.” Joe Jackson, pop genius
“In a word, Zummo-rific...” Marshall Crenshaw, pop artist.
---------------- ”Vinnie is one of those quiet, eccentric genii lurking in a corner of the music business sadly but inevitably overlooked. An accomplished, no, a phenominal musician, a savvy producer and arranger, and someone with a better voice than he gives himself credit for, not to mention a fine head of hair. Vinnie always does good work, and this album delivers. It's really an impressive showcase for all his varied talents, a long time in the making. I really don't know anyone else who could pull off what he's done here: brought Clapton, Beck, Brian Wilson, the Beatles , EW&F, et al., together in a joyous musical celebration---without them knowing about it (yet!). I'm proud to be representin' here, on vocals and on bass---not to mention voiceover! Oh, and the sessions were fun, too. Thanks Vinnie! GM” Graham Maby, legendary bassist with the Joe Jackson Band --------------
Swinging Guitar Sounds Of Young America
“One of my lasting memories from childhood was hunkering down in front of the B&W tv on Sunday nights to watch “The Ed Sullivan Show” (I'm dating myself here). It's where I (and millions of other baby boomers) first saw The Beatles. It's also where I got regular doses of top shelf impressionists like Frank Gorshin, John Byner and Rich Little. These guys could imitate every Hollywood celebrity of note from that era, and they did it with a combination of flawless technique, old school flair and a touch of reverence for their subjects. Their impressions were invariably more homage than mean-spirited mockery, as some impressionists today tend to resort to. Guitarist Vinnie Zummo invests that same kind of heart into paying homage to some of his own personal guitar heroes on Swinging Guitar Sounds Of Young America. Whether he's channeling Abbey Road-era Beatles (”Fab Gear”), laying down funky-slick rhythm guitar tracks and infectious bass grooves (”EWF”) or summoning up the spirit of Bob Willis and & Texas Playboys (”CP Heart”), Zummo's playing is authentic and imbued with a touch of reverence and deep soul. Like impressionists Gorshin, Byner and Little, he shifts seamlessly from guitar hero to guitar hero with stunningly accurate results. There's a touch of Jeff Beck on the ballad “Sanpaku Eyes” (reminiscent of Beck's “Because We Ended As Lovers”), a nod to Eric “Slowhand” Clapton on the raucous power trio number “Take The Cream,” and a spot-on imitation of B.B. King on “So Relaxed I'm Nearly Dead Blues,” which is imbued with all of B.B.'s signature blues licks. The jaunty novelty swinger “Waffles” has a distinct Les Paul-Mary Ford vibe (with Vinnie's wife Janice handling the vocals) while the blazing “Retro Fuso,” with brothers Barry Miles on Mini Moog and Terry Silverlight on drums, is a Joe Satriani-meets-Al Di Meola chops showcase. Elsewhere, Zummo pays homage to Brian Wilson with his lush vocal harmonies on “Wilson Beach” and he tips his hat to jazz guitar great Pat Martino and jazz drumming legend Elvin Jones on the closing duet number ”Kool Bop.” Throw in a seductive bossa nova in “Quantes Vezes,” some Indian flavoring with “Aloo Bobbily,” an authentic bluegrass romp in “Doing The Best That I Can,” a vintage early '80s power pop New Wave number in “You're The One” and a funky N'awlins flavored zydeco romp with “SPJ” (featuring Zummo's former employer Joe Jackson on clavinet) and you have a veritable kaleidoscope of guitar sounds coming from this remarkably talented six- string impressionist. Highly recommended to guitar fans.” -- Bill Milkowski
Bill Milkowski is a regular contributor to Jazz Times, Jazziz, Modern Drummer and Bass Player magazines. He is also the author of “JACO: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius” (Backbeat Books) --------------------------------------------------------- Vinnie, Great playing , great songs, great album, I had the pleasure of working with Billy Joel for 30 yrs and was lucky to have the opportunity to play many diffrent styles of music... Vinnie.. I wanna be in your band...at diffrent times I actually did think I was listening to the Beatles, then Earth Wind and Fire, then Cream and on and on!!!!! everything is done to perfection... you had my ear for all 20 songs.. Not a bad note on the record ! Thanks for the great music Cheers, Liberty DeVitto, Amazing drummer with Billy Joel for 30 years. -----------------------------------------------------------
“An affectionate and insightful guided tour through the recent history of rock and pop. The tunes are original, yet Zummo totally nails several well-known styles, including the Beatles and Cream.” Jim Aikin, famed music magazine reviewer. ------------------------------------------------------ ”On his tribute to The Beatles titled 'Fab Gear' - Vinnie Zummo demonstrates his complete mastery and understanding of all the varied Beatles guitar sounds and their nuances. Few, if any, could have done this with such spirit and style. Bravo Vinnie!”
Jazz artist, Steve Khan
