Bansko jazz festival 2023 Frank Gambale and his all-stars band

Frank Gambale - guitar, vocals Hadrien Feraud - bass Jerry Leonide - keys Gergo Borlai - drums Guitar virtuoso with a Grammy award and three Grammy nominations, Frank Gambale rose to fame in the early 80’s. The Rolling Stone magazine had then described his style as “ferocious”. He was born in Canberra, Australia in a family of talented musicians. He grew up absorbing the blues of the 60’s and 70’s. Frank started to play guitar as a teen but then moved to the piano and almost gave up guitar altogether. Fortunately, he returned to it but continued playing the piano. In the beginning of the 80’s he moved to LA “the place where all the music I loved was made”. His first step there was the Guitar Institute of Technology from where Frank graduated as The Student of the Year and an opportunity to teach there. In 1985 he signed his first three-album contract and went on tour with the famous jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Soon after that his widening reputation led to an invitation from Chick Corea to join his groundbreaking Elektric Band and Frank Gambale went on to play with them for 36 years! Gambale graced the cover of the Guitar Player magazine in 1988 with a headline entitled Fire meets Finesse. That says it all. He had toured extensively during the years. “My musical journeys have taken me at least 20 times around the Globe” – says Frank Gambale with a smile. World tours with the drum legend Billy Cobham lead to the enthusiastic participation of Billy’s into Frank’s album Raison d’Etre that introduced Gambale’s tuning system to the world. As a songwriter, he has more than 300 songs into his account, published in more than 20 albums. In his music there are many styles in-corporated – from rock, funk and jazz to R&B and some Latin and Brazilian influences. Chick Corea describes Frank Gambale this way “Everything he touches with his guitar turns gold – always has”, adding that Frank is his favorite guitar player. John McLaughlin, a guitar legend himself, loves to joke about Gambale “I’d like to cut his hands off for being so good”. Pat Metheny had said “I’d like to take a month off and study with Frank Gambale”. In 2011 the All-star Return to Forever IV (Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Gambale, Lenny White) played more than 100 concerts all over the world starting in Australia at the famed Sydney Opera House. 2012 brought new direction for Gambale – the vocal album Soulmine that he had wanted to make for 30 years. It is his first collaboration with BOCA, a singer with a sexy, strong and evocative voice and Gambale’s muse. 2015 Frank launched his first online guitar school in October 2015. Gambale had always wanted his own forum to deliver his unique brand of teaching music and guitar. In 2017 the Chick Corea Elektric Band got together again and made another world tour. With various formations, nowadays Frank Gambale continues to perform and amaze the audiences. Apart from all other achievements of his, Frank has created his famous “Gambale Sweep Picking Technique” and has elevated it to a precise art form now standard in the guitar lexicon. He continues to give master classes on that all over the world.