Standard Brands Duo
With Jimmy Bookout & Tom Billotto
Jimmy Bookout
owns his own wine distributorship company, Lornat, named after his wife Lorin and daughter Natalie.
Under Paris Skies
In My Life
She's Leaving Home
“Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two…” – composer and pianist, Frederic Chopin
Standard Brands duo performances are a unique combination of guitars and ukulele with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor added in for good measure. Seasoned professionals and best friends, Tom Billotto and Jimmy Bookout have been performing together since the late 1980s.
They adopted the name Standard Brands from an album by mutual guitar hero Chet Atkins and jazz guitar legend Lenny Breau. The album is the epitome of class and simplicity – two acoustic guitars, classic songs, beautiful arrangements and impeccable performances.
Standard Brands performs classic instrumental and vocal songs: traditional jazz standards, Bossa Nova, show tunes, movie and television themes and classic popular songs.
Two And A Half Guitars – Tom Billotto & Jimmy Bookout
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“Tom and Jimmy are excellent guitarists from the Charlotte, NC area. They team up to perform a dozen classic pop, Jazz and Latin songs on Two And A Half Guitars. The “half” is a ukulele. They don’t miss any notes and present a warm sound that is welcoming for any audience.”
O’s Place Jazz Magazine 66
And I Love Her
“Tom – Received the CD yesterday and have listened to it 3-4 times already. Love it! Love the choice of songs, the arrangements, the performances, the whole feel of the CD. It’s breezy and light, without being cheesy and lightweight. It is finely-crafted and executed, and it breathes in a way that only musicians who play a LOT, especially in front of people, can do with any authenticity and feel. Congratulations once again.”
Joe Morra, Professional Pianist, Washington, D.C.
Photography by Gerin Choiniere and Christian Billotto. © 2018 Tom Billotto. All Rights Reserved In All Media.