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Jazz Articles about John Pizzarelli
John Pizzarelli Lights Up Birdland
by Michael P. Gladstone
John Pizzarelli Birdland New York City, New York November 17, 2007
On this final night of his most recent stand at New York's Birdland, guitarist/vocalist and bandleader John Pizzarelli raised the stakes, bringing an extra level of excitement to his performance and to the packed audience's delight. The week began with a “launch" party for Pizzarelli's wife, Jessica Molaskey, on the occasion of her new album Sitting in Limbo (P.S. Classics, 2007). The couple, ...
Continue ReadingThe Pizzarelli Boys: Sunday At Pete's
by AAJ Italy Staff
Un disco decisamente imbarazzante pervaso da uno sconcertante gusto retrò di cui sono sfortunati protagonisti padre (Bucky) e figli (John e Martin) Pizzarelli, più il batterista Tony Tedesco. Tredici standard ed una composizione originale per un percorso affettato, che nella migliore delle soluzioni guarda - senza avvicinarsi - al modello reinhardtiano, ma il paragone con il modello di riferimento è a dir poco impietoso. Quando la musica non rasenta il kitsch, i quattro musicisti si muovono senza infamia e senza ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Sinatra
by Woodrow Wilkins
There's something about John Pizzarelli that makes anything he does all right--or better than all right. The son of jazz guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, the 47-year-old guitarist and vocalist is that rare hybrid of a throwback to yesteryear and one who is contemporary. His music is as fresh as it is familiar. Pizzarelli has recorded as a bandleader for RCA, Chesky, Stash and Novus, and in 1997 appeared in the Broadway musical Dream, a revue of Johnny ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Sinatra
by Samuel Chell
Whether they know it or not, performers pay tribute to the Master Storyteller every time they interpret and resuscitate one of the thousands of songs from the so-called “Great American Songbook"--a repository of the best songs written between 1920 and 1960 by Berlin, Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Arlen, Van Heusen, Styne and company--and all owing their continuing influence and vitality more to one performer than any other.
So, as with any other recorded Frank Sinatra tribute, ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Sinatra
by Jim Santella
With the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra interpreting swinging big band arrangements, John Pizzarelli captures the spirit of Frank Sinatra's memorable years with the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Count Basie and others. His aim here is not to emulate Sinatra, but to honor him with the songs that he sang so effectively. How can we ever forget?
The program includes eleven familiar songs from the Sinatra years, all presented as brief arrangements that keep creative soloing to a ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli: Knowing You
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
I've always been the ultimate non-fan of the ever-growing Sinatra-esque, finger-popping, wink-a-dinging, Vegashtick franchise. That's one reason it took me so long to get to this release, and I'm glad I finally did, because it was such a surprise how much I liked it.
Although Pizzarelli's voice still sounds pinched, and can't always go where his guitar does when they scat together, he's a straightforward and touching singer who swings like crazy; his version of a warhorse like ...
Continue ReadingJohn Pizzarelli at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
by Jim Santella
John Pizzarelli Quartet Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Cerritos, California April 22, 2005
John Pizzarelli knows how to impress an audience. He knows how much we enjoy the jazz tradition that carries a rhythmic swing with its interpretation. He knows that every audience loves a talented singer who communicates well. He knows that experience is the best teacher, and he knows that good showmanship requires a professional performance from start to finish. ...
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