In 1999, on the last day of Randy Napoleon’s last class at the University of Michigan, the phone rang. Jeff Hamilton was on the other end, inviting the young guitarist to do a series of performances at the Hollywood Bowl with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (CHJ0).


Then that fall, just weeks after Napoleon moved to New York City, Benny Green asked him to join his trio. “Playing with Benny was a learning experience every day,” says Napoleon, who toured with the pianist nationally and internationally for a year. “We would practice one song for hours without stopping, just to internalize a tempo. He opened my ears to how much I didn’t know.”


Napoleon soon had a chance to put what he learned to good use—on a tour with CHJO. This was also a chance to learn from the major artists in the orchestra and the Who’s Who list of luminaries who joined them on occasion. During this tour, CHJO recorded Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra: Live at MCG Jazz. A three year stint with crooner Michael Bublé followed.


Currently, Napoleon tours with the legendary singer/pianist, Freddy Cole, and is featured on Cole's 2009 album, Live at Dizzy's Club: The Dreamer in Me. He is the main arranger and the guitarist on Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B, a 2010 Grammy-nominated release from High Note that features songs from the Billy Eckstine song book as well as on Talk to Me, Cole's 2011 album.


As a sideman, Napoleon has appeared on television throughout the world. His United States appearances, mainly with Bublé, include Letterman, Leno, The View, Today, Regis and Kelly, Ellen DeGeneres, a PBS special, The Radio Music Awards, and Dancing with the Stars. He is featured on Bublé’s Grammy-nominated album, Caught in the Act.


He has played with other major jazz bands, including the Bill Charlap Trio, and with top cabaret performers Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano. He appears on Comstock's 2010 release, Bitter/Sweet. He has also recorded with Melissa Morgan, Josh Brown, Paul Keller and others.


Today, Napoleon is one of the most sought after guitarists in New York, where he is known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz guitar tradition. In addition to backing the best, he leads his own bands, an organ trio, a trombone trio, a quartet with piano, and a three-horn sextet that includes organ, drums, trumpet, tenor sax and trombone.


Napoleon writes and arranges for his own bands as well as for other performers. His CDs, Enjoy the Moment, (with Jared Gold, organ, and Quincy Davis, drums), and Between Friends (organ trio on half the tracks, piano quartet with Benny Green on piano, David Wong on bass on the other half) drew praise from all quarters.


Guitarist George Benson calls Napoleon "sensational." Detroit Free Press critic Mark Stryker says Napoleon "plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation." Washington Post critic Mike Joyce praises his "exceptionally nimble finger-style technique." And comparing him to Wes Montgomery, music critic Michael G. Nastos says "he displays an even balance of swing, soul, and single-line or chord elements that mark an emerging voice dedicated to tradition and universally accessible jazz values."