StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Frank Vignola plays "Stardust," plus Tony Bennett's "In A Mellowtone"

Monday is Columbus Day, and so now seems as good a time as any to take a look at a couple of videos from musicians of Italian-American ancestry who will be performing in St. Louis this month.

Today's first clip features guitarist Frank Vignola, a jazz veteran who has recorded for a number of labels including St. Louis-based Mel Bay Records. One of his current projects is called Gypsy Grass, which, as the name implies, attempts to cross the "Gypsy jazz" style of Django Reinhardt with bluegrass, which makes sense since another Vignola's regular gigs is with the eclectic mandolinist David Grisman. Here, Vignola does the standard "Stardust," accompanied by Aaron Weinstein on violin, Vinny Raniolo on guitar and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi. He'll be performing with Gypsy Grass at Jazz at the Bistro from October 17 to October 20.

The second clip features a fellow named Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known by his stage name: Tony Bennett. Just last month, Bennett won a shelf-full of Emmy awards for his most recent television special, and though he's now in his eighties, he doesn't seem to be slowing down much, if at all. He's got a new CD, a DVD and a book of his artwork coming out this fall, and his current tour will bring him to St. Louis' Fox Theatre on October 27.

Here, we see Bennett in a performance from 2000, singing the Duke Ellington classic "In A Mellowtone." This video illustrates his sly sense of swing and his obvious appreciation for, and enjoyment of, the contributions of his musicians, including his longtime accompanist Ralph Sharon on piano.