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John Pizzarelli at Blues Alley
by Mark Edelman
John Pizzarelli Blues AlleyWashington, DC December 8, 2024 When you're part of a jazz dynasty--son of guitar-great Bucky Pizzarelli, husband of chanteuse Jessica Molaskey--it's only natural that you'd ring in the holiday season for us peasants with a Christmas carol or two. John Pizzarelli warmed up the crowd at DC's venerable Blues Alley with a swinging mug of wassail alongside classics from the Great American songbook and some original tunes for good measure. In ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli Live at Scullers Jazz Club
by Doug Hall
John Pizzarelli Scullers Jazz Club Debut of new album Stage & Screen Cambridge, MA June 2, 2023 With an evening dedicated to the American Songbook, acclaimed jazz guitarist and vocalist, John Pizzarelli, performed with his jazz trio at the intimate cocktail-lounge setting of Scullers Jazz Club for a small but dedicated audience. Pizzarelli was set to play selections from his new release, which he is touring on, Stage and Screen (Palmetto Records, 2023). This ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Stage & Screen
by Pierre Giroux
Guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli's Stage & Screen salutes songs from Broadway and Hollywood. However, there is also a subtext in five songs on the track list in which “time" is featured either prominently or covertly, as it deals with love lost, found, unrequited or déjà vu. In this recital, Pizzarelli is joined by bassist Mike Karn and pianist Isaiah J. Thompson as they work smoothly together to trace the harmonic seams and essence of each tune. The ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Stage & Screen
by Steve Monroe
Evoking heartfelt memories of love and longing, sunshine, laughter and more, vocalist/guitarist John Pizzarelli's Stage & Screen delivers vibrant interpretations of classic songs from Broadway and Hollywood. The album provides not only nostalgia and hopeful vibes, but what amounts to orchestral artistry by Pizzarelli, pianist Isaiah J. Thompson and bassist Mike Karn as a bonus. Pizzarelli, a Grammy award winner and long an internationally acclaimed performer and entertainer, has been credited as being a prime interpreter of the Great American ...
Continue ReadingAnn Hampton Callaway: Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration
by Richard J Salvucci
Peggy Lee was a remarkable singer and songwriter, but to some listeners, deeply enigmatic. Her time, often well behind the beat, conveyed a subtle sense of irony. “Are you getting this?" she sometimes seemed to say, “or am I going too fast for you?" She could be exuberant and world weary almost in the same breath. It was seemingly up to the audience to decipher her meaning. Lee could convey expectation and experience simultaneously, as in her version of “Folks ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Better Days Ahead: Solo Guitar Takes on Pat Metheny
by Richard J Salvucci
Only two things are required to enjoy this recording: a love of beautiful compositions, and an affection for inspired playing. If you are a fan of Pat Metheny or John Pizzarelli, “Better Days Ahead" will be rewarding in ways not accessible to a more casual or less informed listener. On the other hand, if you have spent an evening listening to classical, and especially, to Spanish guitar, or if you think you do not like jazz, you owe it to ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: The Metheny Project
by R.J. DeLuke
Guitarist/singer John Pizzarelli has been a road warrior in a long career spanning some five decades. He's known for following in the footsteps of his father, the great jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, as a champion of the Great American Songbook working with classic jazz musicians and singers. He eventually became one of those singers that keeps classic works alive: a crooner, at times, who can also play music from well beyond the swing era. He cuts it as ...
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