John Pizzarelli © Andrea Canter

Born 48 years ago in New Jersey, young John was surrounded by the jazz greats who played with his father, picking up the guitar himself at age six. His early influences were the greatest artists of the time, including Erroll Garner, Django Reinhardt and Les Paul. And his first partner as a professional? Bucky Pizzarelli. A fine vocalist as well as guitarist, John and his trio have often been compared to the great trios of Nat King Cole. He appeared in the 1997 Broadway revue of Johnny Mercer tunes, Dream, and has gained a reputation as one of the great modern interpreters of the kings of American song, Cole and Sinatra. He’s been a prolific recording artist, including the recent release Dear Mr. Sinatra; he’s also collaborated with such pop icons as James Taylor, Natalie Cole, Tom Wopat, Rickie Lee Jones and Dave Von Ronk, as well as jazz giants Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Johnny Frigo, Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen and of course Bucky Pizzarelli. John’s television credits include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Live With Regis & Kelly, The Tony Danza Show, The CBS Early Show, Fox News Channel and Jerry Lewis's Labor Day Telethon. Recently John launched a new career as a radio personality, joining forces with wife and Broadway star Jessica Molaskey to host Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli.   

The John Pizzarelli Quartet is a bit of a family affair with brother Martin on bass. Martin has appeared on many of his brother’s recordings as well as releasing his own Triple Play. Larry Fuller was Ray Brown’s last pianist and has also played with Stanley Turrentine, Ernestine Anderson and Harry “Sweets” Edison. Drummer Tony Tedesco has a long history with John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, appearing on their recordings as well as with John in the Broadway production of Dream. 

With A Song in My Heart (Telarc)

John Pizzarelli © Andrea Canter

And the horns indeed lead the way, not only from the opening title track but from arrangements that uniquely focus on the brass section rather than simply creating a big band-like backdrop for the vocalist. With his core quartet, Pizzarelli pulls in the talents of trombonist John Mosca, saxophone and clarinet specialists Andy Fusco and Kenny Berger, and trumpeter/flugelhornist Tony Kadleck. He also called on Don Sebesky to write special brass arrangements for six of twelve tracks, and invited special guests Cesar Camargo (piano) and dad Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar) for one track each. 

Martin Pizzarelli

The title track salutes the earlier arrangement by Don Sebesky for Chet Baker, Pizzarelli noting that the horn arrangement is “a harmonization of Chet’s first chorus on the version from his record.”  John takes the song at a brisk pace with bouncing guitar lines, his scat going out in perfect tandem with the horns. Pizzarelli’s judicious use of scat also augments the Rodgers and Hart ditty, “I Like to Recognize the Tune,” here in extended duet with his own guitar to create a unique harmony; on “The Lady Is a Tramp” (from 1937’s Babes in Arms), Pizzarelli’s voice plays fifth horn in a conversation that goes back and forth between scat, guitar and each horn in turn. 

The other horn arrangements bless renditions of Rodgers and Hart’s “This Can’t Be Love,” a samba-kissed “Johnny One Note” (featuring great sax lines from Andy Fusco), an upbeat “Mountain Greenery” and a reworking from the male perspective of “She [He] Was Too Good to Me,” the latter another salute to the original (1974) recording by Chet Baker. 

Bucky Pizzarelli©Andrea Canter

The quartet swings softly on Rodgers and Hart’s “Nobody’s Heart,” while perhaps the highlight of the set is the perfect cross-generational pairing of John and Bucky Pizzarelli on “Easy to Remember,” a favorite tune of Benny Goodman that John remembers from his early gigs opening with his father for the great bandleader. “My father has just recently started playing it again in his show, so that’s why it’s on this record.” And maybe the tune is included here because the song seems to inspire Bucky’s most exquisite playing and the sympathetic collaboration of father and son. 

On Tour

As always, John Pizzarelli has a song in his heart, an inborn sense of swing and sincere interpretation of lyric, effective in tribute to both the songwriters and song stylists who have most influenced his life in music. After five nights at Catalina’s, he returns to New York for an extended run at the Café Carlyle (September 9-November 1).  

John Pizzarelli will appear at Catalina’s in Los Angeles, August 27-31; www.catalinajazzclub.com. In New York, catch John at Café Carlyle from September 9-November 1; www.thecarlyle.com