▄▄▄▄
▄█▓▓█▄▄
█▓▒▒▓▓█▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄██▓▒▒▓▓▓█▄▄
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒░ ▄ ▒▓▓█▄▄
▄▄▄█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▄▄ ▄▄█▓▓▓▓▓▓█▄▄▄█▓▓█▄▄ ▄█▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░ ▐█▄ ▒▓▓█▄
▄▄▄█▓▓▓▒░▒▒░▒▒▓▓█▄ ▄▄█▓▓▒▒▒░▒▒▓▓▓█▓▒▒▓▓█▄▄▄█▓▒░░ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄███▄ ▒▓█▄
▄▄▄█▓▓▓▒░▒░░░░░░░▒▒▓█▄▄▄█▓▓▒▒░ ░░ ░▒▒░▓▒░░░▒▒▓▓█▓▒░ ▄████▌▐█▌▐█████ ▒▓█
▄█▓▓▓▒▒░░░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▒▓██▓▓▒░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▒ ▄▄▄ ░▒▓▓▒░ ███████ ██ ████▌ ▓█▀
▄█▓▒▒░░ ▄▄██████████▄░▒▓▓▒░ ▄██████████ ▒░▐████ ░▒▓▒ ▐███████▌▐█▌▐███ ▒▓█
█▓▒░ ▄█████████▀▀████▌░▒░ ▄███▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▌ ░░ ██▌▐█ ░▒▓▒ █████▀▀▀ ▀▀░▀█▌ ▓█▀
▄▄█▓▒░▐█████▀▀ ░░░░ ███ ░▄███▀ ░░░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ██▌ ▐█ ▒░ ▐███ ░▒▒▒░░ ▐ ▒▓█
▄█▓▓▒▒░ ███ ░░░ ░░ ▐██▌▐██▀ ░░ ▐████████▌▐██ ▐█ ░ ▐██▌ ░▒▓▓▓▓▒░░░▓█▀
▄█▓▒▒░░ ██▌░░ ░ ██▌██▌ ░░ ▀███▀▀███▐██▌ ▐█▌ ░ ██ ░▒▓█▀▀█▓▓▒▓█▀
▄█▓▒░░ ▄██▄▐██▌ ░ ░ ██▐██▌░ ▀ ░ ▐██▌███ ░ ▐█ ▐█ ░▒▓█ ▀▀█▓█▀
▄█▓░░ ▄█████▌▐███░ ░░ ▄██▌ ██▌ ░░ ░░ ▄██▌███▌ ░ ▐█ █▌░▒▓█ ▀█▀
█▓░ ▐████████ █▀ ░░ ▄███▀ ░▐██▄ ░░░░░░░ ▄███▀░▐███ ▒░ ▐█ █▌ ▒▓█
█▓░ ███████▀▀ ░░ ▄▄████▀ ░▒▒ ▀███▄ ▄███▀░▒ ▐███▌ ▒░ ▐█ █ ▒▓█
█▓▒ ▐█████▄▄▄▄▄▄█████▀▀░▒▒▓▓▓▒░ ▀███████████▀░░▒▓▒▐███▌▒▓▒ ▐██▌ ▒▓█
▀█▓▒░░ ▀▀████████▀▀ ░▒▒▓▓▓█▀█▓▒▒░ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀░▒░▒▓█▓ ▀▀▀ ░▒▓▒░ ▀▀ ░▒▓█
▀▀█▓▒▒░░░ ░░ ░░▒▓▓▓█▀▀▀ ▀█▓▓▒▒▒░░▒▒░▒▒▒▒▒▓▓██▓▒░▒▒▒▒▓█▓▒▒░░▒▒▓█▀
▀▀█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▀▀▀▀ ▀▀█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▀▀▀█▓▓▓▓▓▓█▀█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[dmc]
Doom Generation Noises
────[rlsnfo]────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Artist : The Pizzarellis, Buck and John
Title : Contrasts
Year : 1998
Label : n/a
Genre : Jazz
Type : Album
────[ripnfo]────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Ripped on: 08.20.2008
Ripper : DGN
Quality : avgkbps / 44,1kHz / Joint-Stereo
Size : 83,4 MB
Playtime : 63:18 min
Grabber : Eac
Encoder : Lame 3.97 V2 New
────[trax]──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
01. Three Little Words 03:57
02. Coquette 03:00
03. Jersey Bounce 06:54
04. The Bad And The Beautiful 02:30
05. The Minute Samba 02:41
06. Contrasts 06:05
07. Test Pilot 02:38
08. I Hadn't Anyone 'till You,the Very Thought Of You 04:33
09. The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 05:40
10. Two Funky People 06:41
11. Stage Fright 02:49
12. Phantasmagoria 04:50
13. My Romance 01:50
14. Emily 04:42
15. Guess I'll Go Back Home This Summer 02:18
16. For Whom The Bell Tolls 02:10
────[Release Note]──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
John Pizzarelli once relayed the story of playing at a jazz
festival in Italy. A father and his son had traveled 400 miles
to see the guitar virtuoso perform live with his legendary
father, Bucky Pizzarelli, but arrived late and missed most of
the concert.
"My dad said we should play for them for an hour and I agreed,"
John told International Musician magazine. "That's what my
father taught me. His general love of music has made me
appreciate everything I have because of how much he loves
it."(1)
Likewise, John's reverence of his musical heritage and a zeal
for entertaining are what have propelled his impressive career
- 2006 marks his 26th year as a recording artist - and endears
him to fans around the world.
MY BLUE HEAVEN
John Paul Pizzarelli made his debut on April 6, 1960 in
Paterson, New Jersey, the first son of John "Bucky" and Ruth
(nee Litchult) Pizzarelli, baby brother to sisters Anne and
Mary and future older brother of Martin. (Incidentally, Aries
are said to be charming, confident and natural-born leaders who
are quick with a joke, good cooks and skilled with their
hands!) John grew up surrounded by music in the Pizzarelli
home, located in Clifton and later, in Saddle River, NJ. In
fact, he claims that one of his earliest memories is that of
listening to Beatles records while still a preschooler. Home
movies on his 1992 Live in MontrΘal: The Big Band DVD show the
happy siblings laughing and dancing, seemingly always within
arm's reach of a musical instrument, usually one of father's
guitars leaning against the couch. To develop their finely
tuned ears, the children were encouraged to take piano lessons
and play in their school band. Even while the family ate, the
latest jazz LP would play in the background, both for enjoyment
and for a music appreciation lesson around the dinner table.
Naturally, the children were all fascinated by their father's
unique profession. Bucky decided that the best way to gauge his
young son's interest was to have him learn the same way he did
in the 1930s; starting with the banjo as taught by two of the
masters. So, at the age of six, John was sent for lessons in
nearby Clifton with Peter and Bobby Domenick, his paternal
great uncles. The Domenicks were talented musicians, featured
on a Carmen Mastren album for Mercury called Banjorama. Peter,
the eldest, worked at a Paterson textile company and played
area club dates while Bobby went out on the road with early big
bands led by Clyde McClure and Buddy Rogers. After a tour
stretch, the family eagerly awaited Bobby's stories, listening
to his brushes with celebrity as well as learning any new
musical tricks he'd picked up.
The Domenicks taught John basic wrist techniques on Bucky's
Paramount tenor banjo, working up to "Bye, Bye Blues," "Bye,
Bye Blackbird" and "Honeysuckle Rose," a musical rite of
passage in the family. John practiced using the solos that
Bobby had written out in simple tablature form. It wasn't long
before the young novice had his calluses.
Those days, as in many years previous and even more since,
Bucky was in high demand as a solid rhythm guitarist. He played
on dozens of legendary recordings, no less than Ray Charles'
"Georgia on My Mind," Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me To the Moon" and
Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." A studio session player, Bucky was
a regular with NBC's Tonight Show band when the show was based
in Manhattan, before moving to Burbank, California in 1972.
"His day began by leaving New Jersey at eight o' clock," John
says, recalling his father's hectic schedule. "He went into the
city and did a couple of jingle dates. Around four o'clock, he
did the Tonight Show in New York. He came home, and then he
went back into the city to work from ten until two in the
clubs. My father worked his ass off, but he always did the type
of work he wanted."(2)
John is quick to add that the sacrifices and successes of
Bucky's career is what schooled all four of the children well
and put two of them through college. He credits both his
parents for maintaining a normal routine in the household.
"Family comes first and we've been lucky," Ruth Pizzarelli told
Bucky's biographer, Terence Ripmaster. "Other than the normal
give and take, we all adjusted to Bucky's career. Sometimes it
was hard on the kids. He'd have to miss their recitals,
graduations and that sort of thing. But we understood. Of
course, the fact that the kids all loved music and played with
Bucky made for lots of fun."(3)
When he wasn't touring with Benny Goodman's big band, which he
joined in 1965, Bucky earned a living inside New York's
recording studios. He would sometimes take the children to his
sessions, whether laying tracks with Dion and the Belmonts or
playing on a toothpaste jingle, and took pride in introducing
his family to fellow musicians. John remembers it as being very
exciting, "(and) one of the few times I kept quiet."(4)
Bucky constantly looked for opportunities to gently expose his
children to the business, like inviting daughter Mary, then 15,
to play guitar on two of his albums, including the acclaimed
Green Guitar Blues.
While he recorded albums under his own name in the '70s, Bucky
played extensively with Goodman, guitarist George Barnes,
violinist Joe Venuti and saxaphonist man John Haley "Zoot"
Sims. Often, the Pizzarellis would host the musicians that
Bucky chummed with, much to the delight of the rest of the
family.
"Bucky's a real family man. It's remarkable how his children
developed into such talented musicians. But that's Bucky and
Ruth," guitarist Tony Mottola once said. "When we musicians
would gather at their home in Saddle River, the children were
included in the jams."(3)
John's childhood memories include playing ping-pong with Zoot
Sims, snacking on cookies and Ovaltine at the kitchen table
with bassist Slam Stewart and impromptu sessions around the
Christmas tree with Joe Pass and Les Paul. "The funny thing was
I knew these guys from being around my father," John says. "I
didn't really know much about them aside from they were my
dad's buddies. And I think that I had a better time because I
didn't know those things."
In fact, witnessing the easy camaraderie between the players is
one of the things that pulled John toward the musician
lifestyle. "I was attracted to the 'guys.' I loved the 'hang' -
watching my father and Zoot Sims all sit in the living room and
tell stories," John remembers. "I loved the fact they were
having fun."(5)
I'M AN ERRAND BOY FOR RHYTHM
John didn't pick up the guitar, quite literally, until he was
10 or 11. "I just picked the guitar off the couch one day and
started looking at the tablature of Elton John songs," he says.
"I started playing along with the records and figured, 'Oh, the
guitar plays the same way as the banjo. It just has more
strings.'"
Bucky remained quiet on the sidelines as John experimented with
his gear, strumming this and plugging in that. When asked, he
would show his son a few chords, but never pressured or prodded
him, other than when he heard a sour chord. "He'd "poke his
head out and say, 'move the finger,'" John laughs. (2)
John and his brother Martin attended Don Bosco High School, a
Catholic boys' preparatory in Ramsey, NJ. John played trumpet
in the school marching band and enjoyed football, basketball
and especially baseball. He planned on being the next Ted
Williams - in spite of having more heart than home runs.
"I couldn't hit a curve ball," he recounts, later joking that
his Hall of Fame aspirations were quickly dashed by an "all
field, no hit" reality. "I wasn't making any of the sports
teams and I was a big sports fanatic. That's when I realized
there was a reason why I was going to band practice."(1)
At school, a friend pointed out that because John had home
access to instruments like a Fender Jazzmaster and amplifiers,
they could form their own garage band. John's first group,
called Emanon ("no name" spelled backwards), came together in
1974, their claim to fame being able to play the Edgar Winter
Group's "Free Ride." "(Bucky) loved it. He took me to gigs and
always said good luck. He only complained about the volume, but
who didn't. We were on a first-name basis with the policemen in
our neighborhood!"(6)
John's comic timing makes him an affable front man, and he
charmed audiences even back in his youth. It's something he
says he also picked up from keeping his ears open.
"There was a record in our house by Bill Cosby called Why Is
There Air? I learned all those bits. Then I learned from George
Carlin's AM/FM. I listened to those records and I loved the
rhythm and the way they told stories."(7)
In his teens, John's musical idols were singer-songwriters like
James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Billy Joel. "I loved all those
Billy Joel records. I went to see him and loved the excitement
of his concert," he says. "I still am a big fan of the music I
grew up with."(8)
Peter Frampton's 1976 mega-selling album Frampton Comes Alive
was, and still is considered to be, one of the records that
made the biggest impressions on John, not only because he
played and studied it at great length, but because the rock
album helped steer him toward a career in jazz.
Emanon disbanded and John was now playing school dances and
parties with Omega ("the last word in rock 'n' roll"). They
covered ELO, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, as well as
Frampton's "Shine" and "Show Me the Way."
"I learned a lot of stuff off solos on records," John admits.
"One day, when I was 16, my father said, 'Well, that's really
great. You learned all of those Frampton Comes Alive licks. Why
don't you try to learn 'Rose Room' off this Django Reinhardt
record?'"(2)
Purportedly, Bucky offered John $5 to learn Reinhardt's solo,
but he never made it past a chorus or two and rightfully didn't
earn the fiver. However, it did turn him on to listening to
classic jazz albums from Reinhardt, Clifford Brown and Billie
Holliday. Little by little, John turned to Bucky for more
advice, including help preparing a solo of "Cherokee" for a
high school band competition. Another time, a schoolmate who
played jazz trombone needed to learn "Spain" for a concert. The
boys learned it off a record, leading to Bucky's suggestion
that if John could learn that, he was surely able to learn the
accompaniments on his recorded duets with George Barnes.
At 17, John was working at Knight's Day Camp in Upper Saddle
River, which he had also attended since he was eight years old.
One of John's fellow camp counselors had studied with guitarist
Barry Galbraith, so the two of them began playing duets at
lunch, using the music sheets from Galbraith's lessons. Bucky
encouraged John to switch from a six- to a seven-string guitar,
featuring a low-A bass note, so that he could better accompany
his friend.
John recalls going to Bucky's solo gigs, and his father urging
him to bring up his guitar so that he could play "Honeysuckle
Rose," one of the few songs he knew by heart at the time. In
his late teens, John was again persuaded to pick up Bucky's
seven-string Gretsch so that he could accompany his father
onstage.
"Learning to be an accompanist is terribly important. Staying
out of each other's way is key," John says, playfully adding
that it was tough "growing up with the guy you are playing with
and having him dock your allowance if you (didn't) stay out of
his way."(9)
After graduating from high school, John studied music and music
education at the University of Tampa, where he was a trumpet
major. In the second semester of his freshman year, his father
called to invite him to spend Spring Break in New Orleans,
where he and Zoot Sims were playing a two-week gig. Among
John's favorite memories of that week was an informal
musicians' gathering, complete with colorful stories and
equally spicy Cajun food. "It was really cool. I thought, 'If I
could ever play an instrument as well as these guys, I could
hang out with them.'"(2) After three semesters in Florida, John
decided to continue his studies closer to home, and enrolled at
William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. Outside of class, he
played his guitar in restaurants and coffeehouses, singing the
songs of James Taylor, Michael Franks and Kenny Rankin.
"You can't play solo all night on guitar, so he picked up
singing," Bucky recounted in an interview. "He was good at it
and just started developing a wonderful repertoire. He wrote
some of his pieces and they went over well. I'm proud of
him."(3)
It wasn't long before John realized that he enjoyed standing on
stage much more than sitting in a classroom, especially when he
could be playing gigs with his father. To his parents' dismay
but not to their complete disbelief, John dropped out of
college to concentrate on becoming a full-time musician.
It wasn't long before he was sharing a stage with Bucky,
including a show at the 1980 Highlights in Jazz series in New
York City with Zoot Sims. One night, John got an indication of
the unpredictable nature of showbiz as two men suddenly started
fighting backstage, just as Bucky and Zoot were teaching John
some last minute chords for "Ghost of a Chance." Amidst the
ruckus and flying fists around them, the veterans didn't flinch
and instead, remained cool and focused on their protΘgΘ. On
Palm Sunday of the same year, John and Bucky recorded their
first album of seven-string guitar duets on the Stash label,
titled 2x7 = Pizzarelli.
HIT THAT JIVE, JACK
Other than his celebrated father, the other major musical
influence in John's life is Nat King Cole.
In 1980, a girlfriend gave John a pop record by an RCA vocalist
named Frank Weber. It included Weber's version of Nat King
Cole's first hit, "Straighten Up and Fly Right." John enjoyed
it so much that he played it for Bucky, who suggested that he
would benefit greatly from hearing the song directly from the
source.
"Capitol had re-released The Best of The Nat King Cole Trio,
Parts I & II," John said. "I found 'Route 66,' 'Baby, Baby All
the Time,' 'Frim Fram Sauce,' 'Paper Moon' and 'Straighten Up
and Fly Right,' and I said, 'That's what I want to do. I want
to make that the foundation of (my) singing and playing.'"(10)
John "just went crazy" and immediately latched on to Nat Cole's
songbook and style, buying up all the trio records he could
find. He was taken by the fact that the music was romantic, had
a sense of humor and, most of all, could really swing. Working
in small clubs and cafes as a singer in towns like New
Brunswick, Metuchen and Mahwah, John knew that Cole's material
better suited his sincere tenor and Chet Baker-like gentle
phrasing than that of, say, Sinatra. "When I heard the Nat King
Cole Trio, it had all the ingredients that I liked about rock
and roll, believe it or not," John says. "I just liked the
excitement and the songs were great."(11)
A card-carrying member of the American Federation of Musicians,
John would rush from playing jazz gigs with his father at
places like the Pierre Hotel to nightclubs to join his band,
Sanpaku (named after a Michael Franks song), in time for the
first set. Martin Pizzarelli also played bass with the Bergen
County group, later reincarnated as The Phil Bernardi Band and
AZIZ. Aside from playing Top 40 requests like John Cougar, The
Police and Men at Work, they managed to release an original
single called "I Like Jersey Best," written by Joseph Cosgriff
and Phil Bernardi. The novelty tune, a tribute to all things
Jersey, including "The Meadowlands/the root beer stands/Main
Street Hackensack," even got limited airplay on WNEW-FM.
Eventually, the unofficial Garden State "anthem" would become
John Pizzarelli's signature song.
Balancing two different styles of music for two different
audiences wasn't exactly a walk in the park. John says that
Bucky claimed his double life made him "the only guy playing
jazz to support his rock and roll habit."(12)
Late one summer night in 1981, the musical interests of father
and son came together in a lightning bolt of mutual discovery.
While driving on Route 17, somewhere between the Pierre Hotel
in Manhattan and home in Saddle River, a song came on WNEW-AM
that John says changed his life.
The artist was Brazilian singer/guitarist Joao Gilberto,
credited with being the father of the bossa nova movement. The
song was the Claus Ogerman-arranged "Besame Mucho" from the
album Amoroso.
"My dad and I both freaked out, it was so good," John clearly
recalls. He remembers Bucky repeatedly turning up the volume in
the tiny Datsun 210, marveling at every chord change and loudly
insisting over the eight-minute song that John get the album as
soon as possible. "I bought the record the next day, and heard
how (Gilberto) played the guitar, simple yet complex. I had
been playing bossa novas, but not like that. So I started
trying to play with Joao's kind of guitar playing."(13)
In Spring 1983, John recorded his first album as a vocalist
called I'm Hip (Please Don't Tell My Father). The Stash outing
featured John on vocals, guitar, trumpet and keyboards backed
by the Bucky Pizzarelli Trio, including Russ Kassoff on piano
and Jerry Bruno on bass. Among the cuts were several Nat Cole
classics, plus the Dave Frishberg-penned title track and two
songs from the repertoire of New Jersey pianist Joe Mooney, a
friend and influence on both Pizzarelli Jr. and Sr. Also on the
recording were two songs that John wrote himself, the Gilberto
-flavored "The River is Blue" and the Casablanca-inspired
"Here's Looking at You" Kid. John called his compositions
"trunk songs."
"It's a term my dad used," John said in the press release for
his 1994 album New Standards. "When I was 17 and on my way to
'rock stardom,' I wrote a lot of tunes; he listened to a few.
He said, 'Even if you don't use them, put 'em in a trunk. You
might need to go to them later.'"(14)
John continued his apprenticeship with Bucky as they regularly
played gigs together. Frequently, he would make tapes to listen
to on road trips to places like Providence or Boston,
inquisitively asking Bucky to break the song down by chord or
technique. They finished the album Swinging Sevens for Stash in
1984 before John went back into the studio to record his
sophomore effort, Hit That Jive, Jack!. Following the formula
of his debut, Hit That Jive, Jack! featured songs like Cole's
"Frim Fram Sauce" with a couple of John's own originals
sandwiched in. He was beginning to gain attention for making
the previous generation's standards sound fresh, relevant and
"hip."
By his mid-20s, John moved out of the family home, but was
still straddling the musical fence between performing with his
father, usually hour-long gigs that gave John the chance to
sing a handful of songs, and playing with his own group. It
soon became evident which was a more lucrative pursuit.
"I was 25 and living in my own apartment and made income by
doing little gigs. On Monday night, I'd go to a restaurant and
set up my amp and a mic stand and just play in the corner and
hardly anyone would listen. On Tuesday, I'd go somewhere else.
On weekends I'd do a wedding or I'd go somewhere with my father
and make a lot of money. It would be like, 'Wowà $500! What a
night!' Suddenly, I realized I had a bank account. I don't know
how it happened!"(15)
Playing with Bucky also had non-monetary advantages, such as
giving John the chance to rub elbows with jazz luminaries like
Ray Brown, Barney Kessel, "Sweets" Edison and Herb Ellis at
Dick Gibson's Labor Day Weekend Jazz Parties in Denver.
"I had to be on my best behavior, musically and
professionally," he describes. "At Gibson's parties, they had
six of everything - six trombones and six trumpets, for
example. Frankie Capp's band played and it consisted basically
of all-stars. The trombone section was Urbie Green, Bill
Watrous and Slide Hampton. Joe Newman, Snooky Young and Bill
Berry play trumpet. Nat Pierce on piano and Marshall Royal on
lead. That was as close to heaven as I could get."(2) Thanks to
his bloodline, no one second-guessed John's presence at the
parties, either.
"There's no burned bridges on the Bucky Pizzarelli trail.
People trusted Bucky, so when he said, 'My son's going to play
with us tonight' - they let the kid play."(15)
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT
The more he performed, the more John realized that he would
have to take care of his voice. For a year, he took vocal
training with Katie Agresta, an acclaimed New York instructor
with clients such as Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper and Steven
Tyler - not to mention Peter Frampton and Jackson Browne. "She
taught me how to keep my voice in shape," John says of the
exercises he continues to use to this day. "I learned to spend
40 minutes warming up in my room before I went downstairs to
sing for one or two hours (in) concert."(2)
After cutting his third vocal record for Stash, 1986's Sing!
Sing! Sing!, John joined the trio of pianist Tony Monte, who
had a regular slot on WNEW's Swingin' Saturday Night show. He
credits Monte as being "the first person to hire me when I
decided to go pro."(16)
John wasn't quite ready to let go of his rock and roll roots
just yet though, as he continued to divide time between rocking
out with his group Johnny Pick and His Scabs, playing alongside
his father and performing on his own at places like J's at
Broadway and 97th Street, where he had a standing club date
every Thursday for two years.
One evening in 1987, he met a young woman at one of his shows.
He describes their meeting in the liner notes of 1993's
Naturally: "We got to talking about our mutual love for
Brazilian music and about four weeks later, I received a tape
that she had made for me of some Brazilian artists - Toninho
Horta, Elis Regina and Hermeto Pascaol. The tape went
everywhere I did, and I listened to it constantly. I wrote
'Your Song is With Me' and realized it was not only a song
about music, it was a song about falling in love." John and
Maria Traversa were married three years later, and welcomed son
John Paul IV in September, 1991.
This time of personal fulfillment also brought a sense of
professional gratification to John. Two years before, he had
made a record with Bucky and Chicago violinist Johnny Frigo
called Live From Studio A. It was on the Chesky label, and
John's contribution was impressive enough for David and Norman
Chesky to consider signing him at a time when they were
searching for their own young male crooner in answer to a hot
New Orleans property named Harry Connick, Jr. David Chesky
heard one of John's solo sets during a Thursday night at J's,
and a record deal was sealed.
Six months after Studio A, tapes were rolling once again as
John recorded his Chesky debut with Bucky, pianist Dave
McKenna, bassist Milt Hinton, trumpeter Clark Terry and drummer
Connie Kay. My Blue Heaven was the first album in three years
to feature John's singing. Backed by a "who's who" of jazz
veterans, John found the on-the-job learning experience to be
thrilling.
Realizing his raw potential, the Chesky brothers urged John to
get a booking agent and a manager to try to promote the record.
He put together a trio in the style of Nat King Cole, that is,
one without a drummer.
"I didn't want it to be guitar, bass and drums," he says,
supporting the decision. "I wanted another instrument in there
to share the chords and harmonies and solos. To keep it
economical and musical, the piano was the obvious choice."(17)
John enlisted Ken Levinsky (son of clarinetist Walt Levinsky,
also a Benny Goodman alum) to play piano and asked his brother
to become his full-time bass player. Years after he says he
thrust a bass guitar upon Martin to round out one of his garage
bands, John knew that Martin would be a natural choice because
he had natural instincts.
"(Martin) really is the unsung hero. We're fortunate to have
him," John says. "He creates a lot of excitement within what he
does. It's very instinctive, and he reharmonizes things at the
drop of a hat. He's a terrific player, and what a bass player
in a group like (this) is all about."(10)
RCA came calling when they heard My Blue Heaven and caught on
to the buzz surrounding the John Pizzarelli Trio's live shows,
not the least of which was his being nicknamed "Mr. Natural" by
Jazz Times magazine and being voted best male vocalist by the
Manhattan Association of Cabarets in both 1988 and 1989.
As with Chesky, there was increasing pressure on RCA to find
their own jazz-pop crossover star, cut from the same suave
fabric as Sony Music's Connick, Jr. In 1992, John was signed to
their jazz boutique label, RCA Novus. All of Me was a big band
album with a big budget. The accompanying press release stated
that he "exudes equal confidence, conviction and charm fronting
an 18-piece big band as well as a whopping 30-member string
orchestra. Belying his young age, he displays highly developed
instrumental and vocal skills on songs that predate his
birth."(4)
Once again, songs were intentionally chosen to pay due respect
to past standards, while also including three original
Pizzarelli "trunk songs" that he penned and published under his
newly-renamed And Baby Makes Three banner.
"The producers wanted pop songs on my records. They thought
they could find that crossover song," he says. "It was really
impossible to take what I was doing and adapt it. What was the
sense to putting brown shoes with a blue suit?"(2)
Shortly after returning from a stint at the Montreal Jazz
Festival in 1992, John set to work on another big band album,
titled Naturally. He admitted to feeling more at ease singing
in front of a big band and comfortable in conveying ideas to
arranger Dick Lieb, whom he'd also worked with on All of Me.
Naturally was released in February 1993 to some acclaim,
including British critic Dave Gelly, who wrote: "Why he is not
infinitely more famous than Harry Connick, Jr. I cannot
understand, unless it is simply a matter of (his) being too
hip?"(18)
(Incidentally, John met Connick, Jr. at the peak of the music
critics' comparisons. Connick reportedly questioned, "Do they
ask about me in interviews as much as they ask about you?")
The trio began to buckle under the weight of another rigorous
tour schedule to promote Naturally. The road was taking its
toll on Ken Levinsky, who preferred to work closer to home.
After some discussion, he decided to depart the group at the
beginning of 1993, leaving John and Martin without a pianist.
Bassist Jerry Bruno introduced Bucky Pizzarelli to a St. Louis
pianist transplanted in New York by the name of Ray Kennedy. He
sat in on a few club dates with Bucky's trio. "My father called
me up and said, 'If you're looking for a piano player, this
guy's unbelievable.'" John recalls, noting that he'd only
auditioned two players. "We had Ray over to the house and gave
him some tapes of the trio and said here's where we're at."
Before rehearsing with John and Martin, Ray, a disciple of
Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, studied tapes of concerts and
club dates and learned some of the original songs, which he
"swung the daylights out of." John was struck by how even a
usually reserved Martin couldn't help but tap his foot and slap
the bass along. "Martin and I looked at each other, then glued
Ray to the piano bench, where he's been ever since."(15)
Later that year, the trio was chosen to be the opening act for
Frank Sinatra for five tour dates in Germany and for 12
additional cities in the U.S. "I saw him in Brendan Byrne Arena
in New Jersey in 1987, and he really got to me," John
remembers. "It was 17,000 people, all that music and just him
standing by himself. That night was unbelievable."(19)
It was obviously "thrilling" for the Jersey boy to be chosen
for the Sinatra tour. John still recalls feeling the whole
molecular structure in the building changing the second that
Sinatra would arrive. One date in Germany was an outdoor venue
in front of a 10,000-strong audience, a night John calls
"electric," as were all the rest.
Although his brush with Sinatra was brief, it was memorable. A
member of the Chairman's entourage escorted John from his room.
Nervous but excited, John was hoping to hit it off with the
legend. "I thought he'd hear 'Pizzarelli' and it would be a big
Italian thing - drinks in Palm Springs, lunch with Steve and
Eydie," he recalls. "I shook his hand and he looked me up and
down. The production guy said to him, 'His father is Bucky
Pizzarelli. He worked with you.' Frank looked at me and with a
grin, said, 'Eat something. You look bad.'"(20)
John jokes that the five-word anecdote at least gave him
something to tell the grandchildren someday. Fortunately, the
trio's music left a more favorable impression on Ol' Blue Eyes,
evident when he gave his nod of approval. "We'd watch Sinatra
in the wings waiting to go on (after us). He'd be snapping his
fingers, tapping his toes. Then he'd walk onstage and say,
'Weren't those guys great?' It was fun touring with him."(19)
Touring with Sinatra may have even indirectly influenced John's
code of attire and his status as one of the jazz world's
sharpest dressers. "In the photos of my father's studio dates
in New York, all the guys are in dark suits, white shirts, dark
ties. That's how they went to work. They were impeccable. So
refined. The whole thing fascinates me. Frank had the pin in
the collar, and he always wore great hats," he says. "When we
were on the road with Sinatra, I told the guys we would wear
suits on Sundays instead of tuxedos because I knew Frank wasn't
going to wear one. He never wore a tux on Sunday. And he never
put his pants on till he was ready to go out on stage because
he didn't want to ruin the crease. If he did put his pants on,
he wouldn't sit down."(20)
YOU'RE LOOKIN' AT ME
Upon returning home, John began the search for material for a
new album. Producer Brooks Arthur, who RCA had recommended
after his work with Bette Midler and Michael Feinstein, arrived
on John's doorstep with tapes of more than 40 songs. The idea
was to find songs that other singers had not yet put their
stamp on and turn them into "new" standards. John was a little
apprehensive at first, but as the two sat and listened to the
demos and exchanging ideas about the music, the idea blossomed.
New Standards was released in 1994, with songs from Jerry
Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Fools Fall in Love" to the Barry
Mann/Cynthia Weil pop confection "Look At Us." In between,
there was not one, but two versions of John's swinging "Oh How
My Heart Beats for You."
"It's a pop record that acknowledges the '50s jazz influences,
but it's being played by guys who make it personal. We're just
presenting the music the way we know how," he then said. (21)
And while the songs were new additions to John's repertoire, he
paid tribute to old friend Zoot Sims. Included in the liner
notes was a reproduction of the 1955 photo William Claxton took
of Sims listening to a playback - but this time, John was in
the chair, a guitar across his lap in place of Zoot's
saxophone.
By the mid-'90s, John began making a name for himself around
the world, and his popularity grew especially in Japan. Dear
Mr. Cole was the brainchild of BMG executive Ikuyoshi Hirakawa,
an album made exclusively for the Japanese market. Readers of
the Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal voted on a "wish list"
of Nat King Cole songs they wanted John to record, as well as
the "dream team" he'd make it with. The results were tallied
and John, bassist Christian McBride and pianist Benny Green
recorded the album in New York over two days. 1994's Dear Mr.
Cole sold so well that RCA decided to release it on the heels
of New Standards in the United States.
However, success is often a two-edged sword. Professionally,
John's career was red-hot, but as is apt to happen, increased
career demands made things difficult at home. He and Maria
decided to file for divorce. After Hours was John's 1995
project, a definite departure from the previous two records'
big band sound.
"Our trio was coming back from Paris and Ray and I got to
talking about the songs we really wanted to record. For some
reason, I never recorded more than one or two real ballads on a
record," John said in the album's press release. The trio
decided on their top choices and then made a demo at Nola
Recording Studios with drummer Joe Cocuzzo and tenor
saxophonist Harry Allen, whom John met at a gig in the mid-'80s
while Allen was still a student at Rutgers University. "We did
seven tunes at once (in the) studio," John said. "When it was
over, we had the makings of a record we never expected to
record."(22)
Mr. Hirakawa at BMG liked what he heard - an intimacy
reminiscent of a smoky, small room on a late night feel to the
ballads. He decided that he wanted the recording as a follow up
to Dear Mr. Cole in Japan, and the trio returned to the studio
with Cocuzzo and Allen, adding Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar and
Randy Sadke on trumpet. In Japan, where the trio toured in
support of the release, the album was released as Ballads for
You. In the States, it was titled After Hours.
Pleased with the response, RCA bumped up John from Novus to the
major label for the making of a big band-style holiday album in
1996. Ron Fair, RCA's A&R (Artist and Repertoire) man, figured
it apropos for John to collaborate with several stellar
arrangers on a seasonal collection featuring the best of jazz,
swing and romantic ballads. And, as John jokes, "my label told
me to do a Christmas record so that I'd have a record selling
every year."(23)
Little expense was spared for the recording. Made in the
summertime in both Los Angeles and New York, it brought
together Johnny Mandel, Claire Fisher, Don Sebesky, Michel
Legrand, Dick Lieb, Patrick Williams, Torrie Zito and John
Clayton. Lieb, who had worked with John on All of Me and
Naturally, was the only arranger that he'd collaborated with
previously.
One of the tracks on Let's Share Christmas was the Nat King
Cole chestnut, "The Christmas Song," which John recorded at
L.A.'s Capitol studios, Cole's famed musical home. As if to
receive a nod and wink from above, John fortuitously bumped
into Natalie Cole, with whom he had recently worked on her
album Stardust. "It was a magical moment. It was just right
seeing Nat King Cole's daughter as I was about to record 'The
Christmas Song.'"(24) It wasn't the first time that John
experienced an uncanny Cole connection. Years earlier, he met
Cole's widow, Maria. "She mentioned that when she saw us on
television, she said, 'My God, it's the Trio!' I couldn't
believe she said that to me."(25)
In December of 1996, John performed for one week at New York's
famed Blue Note, putting on a big band Christmas show conducted
by Don Sebesky. To create a balance of holiday music and other
swing numbers, Sebesky studied some live tapes of the John
Pizzarelli trio and wrote big band arrangements around
standards like "Avalon," "Nina Never Knew" and "Kalamazoo"
especially for the gig. What John calls a "thrilling week,"
backed by a band that included members of the Vanguard Jazz
Orchestra, received rave reviews. During breaks, John and
Sebesky would discuss the material, and what other songs would
lend themselves to big band arrangements. One of the songs
discussed was Lennon and McCartney's "Honey Pie."
"'Honey Pie' came from an idea Don had," John explains. "I've
always been a big Paul McCartney fan and I knew Don could make
it work in a big band setting."(26)
The December Blue Note gig resulted in John's next RCA album,
Our Love is Here to Stay. John called it a very "live" record
on the heels of the club performance. The songs selected for
the album, nearly called Rhythm is Our Business, came together
easily, blending Gershwin's beloved tune with more obscure
choices, like Joe Mooney's "Have Another One, Not Me," and
Pizzarelli originals, like "The Day That I Found You."
"We're not digging up old arrangements, we're creating new
ideas," John notes. "That's what's so beautiful about
interpretation, and that's what we constantly try to do. The
important thing is that we're always trying to move the music
forward."(27)
The last song recorded for Our Love is Here to Stay, which
earned Sebesky a Grammy nomination for his arrangement of the
title track, was "Dream." It was also the name of a new
Broadway musical revue about the life and music of Savannah,
Georgia songwriter Johnny Mercer. John was tapped to star
alongside Lesley Ann Warren and Margaret Whiting.
Whiting, who has close professional ties to Mercer and is
president of the Johnny Mercer Foundation, wanted John and his
trio to be involved in the production, considering him to be a
modern interpreter of the era; one who truly understood the
"heart" of Mercer's music. "Johnny Mercer had signed the Nat
King Cole trio to Capitol Records, so there (were) a lot of
interesting little parallels."(2)
The cast, including Martin and Ray as part of the musical
ensemble, rehearsed for several weeks down in Tennessee. One of
the cast members quickly made an impression on John - Wolcott,
Connecticut native Jessica Molaskey, a theatrical actress who
had appeared in Tommy, Crazy For You, Les MisΘrables, Cats and
Songs For a New World. "I loved the way she sang," John
recalls. "I forced my way into accompanying her in the show and
then I got to know her in Nashville."(5)
Jessica saw John on TV while she was doing Tommy in San
Francisco, long before they met. "I'd first heard him
performing with his father on The Tonight Show. I said, 'Who is
this guy?'" she recalls. "Cut to a few months later. An agent
was talking about the possibility of being in Dream. I said,
'Who's gonna be in it?' When I heard John's name, I said, 'I
want to do it.'"
The attraction, which Jessica calls "so high school," was
instant and mutual. The minute they heard one another sing,
they both looked at each other and realized they were cut, as
Jessica says, from the same musical cloth. "We'd go to the
basement to work on (an) arrangement and my face would be red.
His chords were so impeccable, he was such a great musician. I
glommed on to him like a barnacle."(27)
The show finally opened at New York's Royale Theatre on April
3, 1997, and lasted for only 133 performances before closing on
July 6, 1997 - a veritable bomb in Broadway terms. "I asked
myself something I will never ask myself again: 'How bad can it
be?'" Jessica joked to Talkin' Broadway. "Whenever you ask
yourself that question - you find out!"(28)
John says that Dream was worthwhile, as was performing on the
Great White Way. "I enjoyed it and it was a good experience
because a lot of people got to hear what I do who normally
wouldn't come to a jazz club, so that was great, and it's
really paid off."(29)
It most certainly did pay off - John and Jessica married in New
York in January 1998. Their daughter, Madeleine Elizabeth, was
born later that year.
RHYTHM IS OUR BUSINESS
RCA supported Our Love is Here to Stay with a good deal of
high-profile publicity, including spots on the Late Show with
David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Among the
more unusual appearances was a cameo on Aaron Spelling's
nighttime soap, Melrose Place. The season six episode,
originally aired October 27, 1997, was titled "The Light at the
End of the Tumble."
"In our episode a woman lost the baby that she wasn't really
having," John chuckles about the melodramatic storyline. "Next
thing you know, while I'm playing 'Nina Never Knew,' there's a
fight in the office and she falls down a flight of stairs. But
by the end of the episode, she was fine."(30)
The inclusion of the Beatles' "Honey Pie" on Our Love is Here
to Stay garnered a lot of interest in the press. So much so
that it got John thinking that reintroducing other Beatles'
tunes with a jazz edge might help turn younger listeners and
other non-jazz listeners on to the standards. He set out to
work with Don Sebesky.
With a musical objective of placing the songs into a different
era as if another performer had first recorded them, John
Pizzarelli Meets the Beatles featured Lennon and McCartney
classics in the style of Woody Herman, Van Morrison and Antonio
Carlos Jobim under album cover art imitating A Hard Day's
Night. The 1998 album was well received around the world,
including Brazil, Italy and in Japan, where it went to number
one on the jazz chart. A Canadian-only version was released
with two tracks not on the U.S. album, and a TV special was
taped at the Montreal Jazz Festival, spotlighting the trio
performing the Beatles songs with a little help from their
friends Harry Allen and Don Sebesky.
"We performed it around the world and it was received amazingly
well, except by the record company," John says. "RCA didn't
like the Beatles record. They didn't get it and we had a lot of
discussion about it."(31)
Despite glowing reviews for the Beatles album, John was moved
back to RCA Victor. Still under contract, the last album that
the trio put out with RCA was P.S. Mr. Cole. It was originally
made exclusively for the Japanese market to follow the success
of the first Cole record and accompanied by a concert tour. It
was the first CD to solely feature John, Martin and Ray.
After touring in support of P.S. Mr. Cole in Japan, where John
was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year by readers of Swing Journal
magazine, it was discovered that a disc jockey just outside St.
Louis had been playing cuts from the CD. Pizzarelli fans were
anxious to get a copy, but disappointed to learn that the album
was unavailable stateside. The unexpected grassroots movement
prompted RCA to release P.S. Mr. Cole at home.
When the album came out, John was already dotting Is on a brand
new contract with Cleveland-based record company, Telarc
International. His first project was Kisses in the Rain, a 2000
album that set out to capture and the spirit of the John
Pizzarelli Trio's live performances. Jazziz magazine reported
that to recreate some of the directness and spontaneity of a
gig in the studio, John insisted that the trio record in a
close setting, without headphones. "I hope that everyone who
has applauded and supported us in concert will feel that this
record captures some of the joie de vivre and vitality of that
experience."(32)
Among the tunes on Kisses was the first full song that John and
Jessica collaborated on together. "I Wouldn't Trade You" was
written specifically for the 1999 Steve Martin remake of The
Out-of-Towners, in which the trio had a cameo during one
memorable scene at Tavern on the Green.
"I said to my wife, 'We have to write a song.'" John said. "In
the Jack Lemmon version, he gets the job, and the song has to
be positive about New York, but explaining why he wouldn't want
to stay. So Jessica came up with the whole song, 'I wouldn't
trade youà' for all this stuff. She finished this great lyric
at five in the morning when the baby was teething. I put the
melody to it, and it worked out terrifically. We put it on
tape, but at the end of the movie, Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn
stayed in New York. So it changed the whole ending from the
first movie. We had this great song, and we started playing it
on gigs."(2)
By this time, John had returned to recording and performing as
a duo with his original partner, Bucky Pizzarelli. Acclaimed
albums At the Vineyard Theatre (1996, Challenge) and Contrasts
(Arbors, 1998) were released, along with several titles
reissuing the pair's previously recorded material. The
Pizzarellis - John, Martin, Ray (adopted), Bucky and Jessica,
also began performing a cabaret show as the First Family of
Cool, giving everyone a chance to shine in the shared
spotlight, much to the delight of smiling, toe-tapping
audiences from coast to coast. "A great show is like a great
meal with good wine. All the parts should fit together," John
says, with a nod to the musical clan he has dubbed the Von
Trapps on Martinis. "People are paying a lot to see us, so we
owe them an entertaining experience."(33)
IF DREAMS COME TRUE
In 2000, John had the pleasure of recording with Rosemary
Clooney, with whom he had a close relationship - she
affectionately referred to him as "Johnny," and he called her
"Rosie." Both John and Bucky had played periodically as sidemen
for Ms. Clooney, most notably at New York's Rainbow and Stars.
John dueted with her on the 1992 record, Do You Miss New York?
and was delighted to be given the chance to contribute to
Brazil, a love letter set to the breezy music of Jobim and
Gilberto. John recounted the experience of working with the
legendary chanteuse, which he has called one of the true
highlights of his career, in a heartfelt tribute on her Web
site:
"She was a tremendous person. A helluva musician. She did more
with communicating a song than I have ever heard and she didn't
have half the breath half the time to do it. She lived inside
the songs she sang and made us go with her there, too. She was
a great person to eat with, drink with and she was a wonderful
presence when she held court. When audience responses weren't
to her liking, she worked harder and although she could fly out
a "shut up" playfully to someone during a show (usually to
someone who was so comfortable that they felt they could talk
to her right there) she never compromised her performance. She
was always great. "When we were together at Mackinac Island in
Michigan two years ago, Rose invited Jess and I and Maddie to
dinner along with her manager, his wife and Rose's best friend.
We were a little skeptical at bringing Maddie, but we had
enough 'stuff' to keep her occupied. Stuff that included
stickers. Well, of course, Maddie passed out the stickers, but
wanted everyone to put them on their face. Rosie happily agreed
and long after our stickers came off, there was Rose telling a
Bing Crosby story with a sticker on each cheek and one on her
forehead. She was somethin' else. I am sad." (34)
Let There Be Love followed Kisses in the spring of 2001. The
"mood" CD had a theme of romance and the sound of an intimate
evening at home, as if the trio was kicking back for a cozy
living room jam. Joining the get-together was Bucky, Harry
Allen, Ken Peplowski on clarinet, Dominic Cortese on accordion,
Jesse Levy on cello as well as percussionist Tony Tedesco, who
played the unusual but effective set up of drum brushes on a
phone book.
"One day we were in Canada and John had a promo appearance at a
record store," Tony explains. "They put a mic on a phone book
and it sounded great, so he said, 'We'll do an album like
that.' It ties in with the family in the living room. I told my
dad, 'I've been playing for 40 years, and I end up playing a
phone book.' But it sounds pretty good."(35)
Around this time, John "accidentally" discovered a knack for
cooking, which quickly became a passion and a pastime. In
earlier attempts, he admitted to being intimidated by thoughts
of leaving out an ingredient, making too much or burning a meal
altogether. But while appearing at Jazz at the Bistro in St.
Louis, John stayed in an apartment with amenities he could not
resist. "When I saw the kitchen, I got the urge to cook," he
recalls. "I told my band brother to come up that weekend, and I
would prepare a meal. We told stories, played guitar, talked,
laughed and ate. It was great."(36)
John says that making a batch of gnocchi or pasta sauce is now
among his favorite ways to unwind. "Sometimes to my wife's
chagrin I say, 'I'm cooking tonight!' I make a big mess, but
sometimes when I come off the road I just want to make a nice
red sauce and that's really relaxing. There is something about
bending down and smelling the sauce and thinking next time I'll
add this or thatà then I tell Ray about it."(31)
John expanded his culinary repertoire with help from Food
Network celebrity chef Mario Batali. "I just cook whatever
Mario cooks," he confesses. "I'm a 'cover band' of chefs! I
only cook his recipes. I don't do anything original."(37) John
became such a fan that Jessica arranged for her husband to be
on Batali's television show, Molto Mario. John was one of three
guests who sat at the kitchen set, watching intently as Batali
prepared three farro barocco-themed dishes for the sampling.
"We taped early in the morning," John said. "That night, we
went to his restaurant. He came out to the table and said, 'How
ya doin'?' It was like meeting Zoot Sims; he was really
cool."(38)
In 2001, Telarc brainstormed the pairing of John with labelmate
George Shearing, the British-born piano legend who had worked
with Nat Cole, Peggy Lee, Mel TormΘ and many other jazz
luminaries. "Ray and I were driving one day and I brought it up
to him," John recalls. "I said, 'Telarc wants me to record an
album with George Shearing. Should I do it?' And Ray said, "Of
course you should make the record!' The guys were thrilled.
They're so proud that they say that 'we' recorded with
Shearing."(39)
John would go over to Shearing's apartment and they would
listen to music, select songs, rehearse and hash out ideas.
"(The album) was a great challenge musically and it was just
great fun to be around someone that magnificent," John beams.
"George is an icon."(40)
The two got along famously and respected the musical
contributions of one other, in spite of a 40-year gap in age.
John went into the studio for three days with the George
Shearing Quintet, just weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
brought down the World Trade Center. "It was literally a month
later that we recorded the album, so some of the songs were
interesting," John says. "'The Lady's In Love with You' has a
line that goes, 'If you travel by plane, she says "take the
train."' It was an interesting lyric. We saw two extra verses
to that song and decided to do all three verses. Other songs,
like 'September in the Rain' (and) 'Something to Remember You
By' all had added meaning after that."(39)
When finished, The Rare Delight of You was a tip of the hat to
some of Shearing's best work. "I wanted to point to songs that
I've heard George play over the years that I really loved,"
John told DownBeat in a July 2002 cover story on the
Shearing/Pizzarelli collaboration, specifying tunes like "Lost
April" and "Be Careful, It's My Heart."
The following year, John had an opportunity to collaborate with
yet another legend, but this time, one of his teenage idols -
James Taylor. Producer Russ Titelman called John, told him that
Taylor liked the way he played rhythm guitar and asked if John
wanted to play on the upcoming album October Road. He didn't
think twice before accepting. "We did a whole night session
where we got to hang out and play," he says. "I told James that
I had been waiting for him to ask me if I knew how to play his
songs since I was 16, and here it was happening to me when I
was 40-something. It was just special."(1)
The session went so well that Taylor asked John to join him for
three concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and another
with the Boston Pops. Two years later, John returned to the
studio with Taylor to record the renowned singer-songwriter's
Christmas album.
Also in 2002, John produced wife Jessica's first solo album,
Pentimento, a salute to the music of the Depression era. It
became her record label's biggest selling album and was
followed by a 2003 tribute to Peggy Lee called A Good Day, and
later, 2004's Make Believe, an album of "42nd Street meets 52nd
Street"-type jazzified Broadway hits. John, Martin, Ray and
Bucky played on the albums, along with several players that
were part of the Pizzarelli musical family - including Ken
Peplowski, Johnny Frigo, Tony Tedesco, Jesse Levy and Larry
Goldings.
THE WONDER OF IT ALL
While he spent a great deal of time making music with famous
friends, John finally came into his own celebrity in 2002 -
doing a commercial.
Songwriter Joey Levine, whose claim to fame was penning Tommy
James and the Shondells' "Mony Mony," composed a catchy radio
jingle for Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and
asked Don Sebesky to do the arrangement. After writing a swing
chart for "The Wonder of It All," there was only one vocalist
that Sebesky wanted for the job. "Don called me and said, 'Come
down, we're doing this jingle, and you should sing on it,'"
John relates. "He and Joey had me record it, and it was
amazing. I laughed through it. It was fun to do."(7)
Before John left the recording studio, he was told about plans
for a Foxwoods television commercial. Discussions went so far
as the director suggesting John as the star. Not sure if the
offer was serious, John left his manager's business card
behind. By the time he returned home, a deal was in the works
and shortly after, John was in front of a TV camera, lip-
synching the finger-snapping "Life is good/life is sweet/grab
yourself a front-row seat" ditty as he strolled through the
"action" on the casino floor.
The 60-second ad was played frequently on radio and television
stations along the eastern seaboard, and was in especially
heavy rotation during Red Sox baseball games. John performed at
the casino on several occasions and even recorded an exclusive
album called Live at Foxwoods, featuring the trio, semi-regular
drummer Tony Tedesco and the "Foxwoods Four": John Mosca on
trombone, Tony Kadleck on trumpet and both Andy Fusco and Kenny
Berger on saxophone. John was instantly recognized as "that
Foxwoods guy."
"In the Northeast, I can see people staring at me on the
street," he acknowledges. "It's a great tune, and people are
calling the casino to ask, 'Who's that guy singing?' So, if I'm
going to be associated with a jingle, I'm happy that at least
it's something I like."(7)
To mark the 10th anniversary of the John Pizzarelli Trio in
2003 - the John, Martin and Ray incarnation - plans were made
for a live CD featuring selections from the 250-plus staples in
the group's decade-old repertoire. In September 2002, Live at
Birdland was recorded over four nights at New York's famed jazz
club. However, a live recording presented its own challenges.
"We pretty much knew when we had a good take of a new song, and
to keep track mentally of what we had. Also to play relaxed and
not get caught up in the fact that the tape was rolling,
because that can throw a wrench in the engine," John recalls.
"The first night, the first set was really frantic, and I
remember coming in the second night and saying, 'Listen,
everybody, let's not worry about the tape and just play the way
we play. We've got material and we've got nothing to worry
about. Let's just get up there.' And we really settled in after
the first night."(10)
The album features standards, originals, covers (including a
song that John recorded with James Taylor for the 2003 Grammy-
nominated October Road) and John's witty banter between songs,
a cornerstone of any trio show. "I wanted it to be an 'all in'
CD. They agreed. If I was going to make a live CD, I had to put
the patter on it," John says. "It's as much of what our shows
are about as is the music."(41)
FASCINATING RHYTHM
In 2003, several things in John's career began to come full
circle. One of the most prominent was an opportunity to once
again work with Frank Sinatra.
The Sinatra family commissioned the use of rare, unseen
archival footage for an October 2003 theatrical production
titled Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way. at Radio City
Music Hall. The footage was restored and projected onto a 40-
foot screen, making it appear that Sinatra was performing with
a live, 40-member orchestra led by John Pizzarelli. Not only
did John conduct the group through famous Nelson Riddle
arrangements like "Fly Me To the Moon" and "One For My Baby,"
he was the show's narrator, guiding the audience through the
glamorous and tumultuous events of Sinatra's life through song
and interview clips.
"When Sinatra sings a song, you feel he believes it," John
explained Frank's iconic status on 60 Minutes II. "He believes
that you're going to get on a plane and fly away with him. He
believes that it's a quarter to three. Those things are etched
in stone."(42)
Along with the music, there were choreographed dance numbers by
the Rockettes, fantasy props and sets, and even giant "Rat
Pack" marionettes. Among the spectacular special effects were
scenes that magically placed John inside the screen with
Sinatra for what was called by some "the best performances he
never gave."
"It was a thrill of a lifetime to be on that stage and see
6,000 seats filled, not to mention see Sinatra larger than life
in front of you," John said. (41)
The other career coincidence in 2003 was the return of
Brazilian music to the forefront of John's musical vista. For
six years, he toyed and shelved, then toyed some more with the
idea of a Brazilian-themed album. The creative catalyst was a
1997 performance in Brazil. "I was playing (the classic bossa
nova song, Antonio Carlos Jobim's) 'The Girl From Ipanema,'" he
relates. "I sang it in English, and then the people in the
packed club sang it (back) in Portuguese. It was absolutely
wild. It was so moving, I was crying." (13)
John made several guitar-and-voice demos of the songs he wanted
to record, playing them with a hand-held shaker or a simple
piano melody. He kept the demos for future use under the
working title of Por Joao, a tribute to Gilberto, whose music a
set off a spiritual awakening in John the moment he heard it on
his car's AM radio that fateful night in 1981. Then, in 2002,
producer Russ Titelman saw an inspiring live performance by
Gilberto. He called John and suggested that the time was right
to make a bossa nova record, and was ready to make the
arrangements. Titelman was on the horn with some Brazilian
artists that knew, including Antonio Carlos Jobim's former
drummer Paulinho Braga, pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano, and
singer Daniel Jobim, the soft-spoken grandson of Antonio
Carlos.
"Along the way, I realized how intimate I wanted the record to
be," John says. "I was originally going to go with 12 violins
and four violas and four cellos, but as I kept going back to
the demos, I realized that I would probably lose the intimacy I
was looking for." (43)
In the end, the album's 13 tracks were a combination of trio-
only numbers, spirited rhythms and more lush, Don Sebesky-
arranged string and flute arrangements. "It was thrilling the
way it turned out," John expresses. "Paulo Braga kept saying,
'It's like a river, it's flowing."(13)
Reviews for Bossa Nova, John's best-selling album to date, were
overwhelmingly positive, and in many cases, critics wondered
why it took him so long to put the collection out. Don Heckman
of the L.A. Times wrote: "His soft-spoken vocals and masterful
guitar playing closely parallel the work of the great bossa
nova godfather Joπo Gilberto. The results are first-rate, in
part because Pizzarelli has used bossa nova rhythms in
different tempos and styles and applied them to an intriguing
range of material. Neither James Taylor's 'Your Smiling Face'
nor Stephen Sondheim's 'I Remember' come quickly to mind as
bossa nova candidates, but Pizzarelli gives each an entirely
new, utterly appealing musical persona. The Antonio Carlos
Jobim classics here are even better, with Pizzarelli's empathic
blending of the rhythmic lift of jazz and the sweet sensuality
of Brazilian music."(44)
Such positive reviews affirmed the sentiments of the Brazilian
studio musicians, who pronounced the New Jersey native as truly
having the music of Sao Paolo in his blood.
For the ensuing tour of the U.S., Canada and Brazil, the John
Pizzarelli Trio expanded. After following Nat King Cole's
"drumless" model for so many years, the time was right to add
percussion, and another member, to the core group's established
sound. Longtime friend Tony Tedesco, who previously played with
the Pizzarellis on many occasions and recording projects, was
invited to permanently make the trio a quartet. "I really like
having the drums now," John admits. "We were ready to go in
that direction, and it was important for the bossa nova
material to have that, too."(43)
Although he achieved making his dream album and adding it to a
body of work that would be regarded as remarkable for one
entire lifetime, let alone in just 25 years, John continues
serving as a humble interpreter of the music that has
influenced and moved him.
His 2005 musical project did just that. Knowing You, his 19th
album as a bandleader, was heralded by Amazon reviewer Lloyd
Sachs as "one of Pizzarelli's best albums."(45) It served as a
personal tribute to some of the long-admired composers and
lyricists John has encountered and been inspired by throughout
his career: Alan Bergman, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mandel, Dave
Frishberg and even Brian Wilson. "Sometimes meeting a musician
transforms my way of thinking forever," he writes in the
album's liner notes. "Meeting a songwriter teaches me more
about the nature of life from having lived inside his music."
(46)
RING-A-DING DING
While on an October 2004 tour of Japan with the Clayton-
Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, John tossed around the idea of
collaborating with conductor and bassist Jeff Clayton and
drummer Jeff Hamilton, whom he had known and performed with
over the past 20 years but had never recorded an album.
The result was a salute to Frank Sinatra called Dear Mr.
Sinatra (with a nudge and a wink to John's similarly-titled
tribute in the early '90s to Nat King Cole). Recorded over
three days in Los Angeles with 20 talented musicians including
Bucky Pizzarelli, the big band album is a selection of songs
specifically written for Sinatra as well as some seldom-heart
arrangements of Ol' Blue Eyes classics. "Nice 'n' Easy"
features a new set of lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman never
recorded by Sinatra or anyone else. A rare Quincy Jones
arrangement of "In the Wee Small Hours" originally written for
Sinatra and the Count Basie Band was dusted off for the
project, as was Don Sebesky's take on composer Cy Coleman's
"Witchcraft."
"We made a conscious effort to pick songs that lent themselves
well to the jazz idiom," John explains. "We wanted our CD to be
less conventional than other Sinatra tributes. Many of the
songs we chose were written for him and went on to become
standards, rather than songs that he merely performed." (47)
John's personal vocal performance on the album has won over
critics who may have wondered how he would be able to pull off
Sinatra's impeccable phrasing.
"I didn't consciously think about singing like him," John
reveals to New York's Journal News, "and more people have
talked about the singing in a positive way than every before."
(48)
As the Sinatra album was being mixed and prepared for
marketing, John and his management team were approached by
veteran radio man Don McCullough, the founder, producer and
programmer of a radio network called Radio Deluxe. The all-
standards music format of Radio Deluxe seemed to be perfectly
compatible to John's extraverted personality and renown as a
great entertainer. John and his wife Jessica Molaskey were
signed on as hosts of their own weekly radio show, Radio Deluxe
with John Pizzarelli.
First airing in a few markets in November 2005, the two-hour
program has since been picked up by stations across U.S. and
Canada. Recorded at Nola Studios in New York City, the show
magically transports listeners into a deluxe living room
overlooking Manhattan, sort of a theatre-of-the-mind trick
reminiscent of 1940s radio. In the "living room," John and
Jessica spin their favorite records, carry on informative,
quirky and often-humorous conversations about the week's
musical theme and always, always welcome guests buzzed up by
their accommodating "doorman." To date, guests on the
Pizzarellis' show have included the likes of Steve Tyrell,
Stacey Kent, Peter Cincotti, Tony Danza, Regis Philbin, Ann
Hampton Calloway, Kenny Rankin, Kurt Elling and the legendary
Liza Minnelli.
"We originally wanted to do a cooking show. Kind of Playboy
After Dark meets Molto Mario on the way to Seinfeld," John
tells the Toronto Star. "I was going to wear this retro hostess
gown," chimes Jessica, billed on the show as the Vocalist
Deluxe, "and we'd have this fabulous loft apartment. Tony
Bennett would drop by and tell us his favorite thing to eat was
Mario Batali's gnocchi, and Tony would sing while Mario
cooked."
"Fabulous idea," John laughs. "Only nobody wanted to put up the
bucks to do it."(49) Thanks to the couple's warm, sparkling
banter and intimate knowledge of the music and musicians
features on the show, Radio Deluxe has become a bonafide hit
that is bound to get even bigger. At the present, negotiations
are underway to sign a deal for national syndication through
New York's WOR-AM as well as finding a home on either satellite
radio or a public broadcast network. (50)
As if having his own radio show, making hit records, starring
in TV commercials and touring the globe did not keep him busy
enough, John also manages to slate in time to write a monthly
jazz column in Guitar World Acoustic magazine and work on his
friends' recording projects, such as he did with fellow
guitarist Rick Haydon on 2006's Just Friends.
"Rick approached me about making a duet CD with him for Mel
Bay. I jumped at the chance because of our playing experiences
together and our great friendship. It's a joy to make a CD with
someone who shares the same interests in music and musicianship
as Rick does." (51)
What's next in store for John Pizzarelli? As his beloved Red
Sox proved in the 2004 World Series - anything can happen. For
now, what is certain is that music lovers want John Pizzarelli
around for a long, long time and that this genuinely talented
entertainer will leave a lasting impression on the jazz world.
"It would be great if people said, 'He always sang good
songs,'" he quips with trademark wit, "àand that he was a great
centerfielder."(40)
────[Group Notes]───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Dgn is around since 1998...
After a few years, a few rippers who left, a few who joined, people
greeting,people yelling, people threatening, people helping, people
watching, we're still enjoying our aime: Let ppl listen to what they
are gonna buy b4 they pay a single penny.
There have been also some people and groups that helped out during the
last few years, maybe it's because of them that (against all odds) we
are still releasing and doing well, those know who they are, and we'll
thank forever.
We remind our beloved public, we're against all kind of distrubution,
don't search our rips neither in your preferred XDcc channel, nor in
your local 127.0.0.1 p2p program, We do not distribute ! But it's not
nice to buy when you do not know what you're buying.
As a matter of fact, DGN is a private group, and do not need rippers,
fast or slow shells, traders, t1+ sites, couriers, prewhores, and hw
suppliers, we need only a nice chalet in Switzerland/Canada or a Villa
in the Caribbean sea where to listen to some chillout music.
If you can supply any of those, for free, feel free to contact us for
an application form.
Remember to support the artists.
DGN Crew, 2003
█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀███████▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█
█ ███ ███▀███ ███▀███ ███▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ▄▄▄▄███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███▄███ ███▄███ ███▄███ ███ ███ ▄▄▄ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ █
█ ███▀███ ███▀███ ███▄▄▄▄ ███▀███ ███▄▄▄▄ ███▀███ ▄▄███▄▄ ▀▀▀ ███▀███ ███▄▄▄▄ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █▌███▐█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███ ▄▄▄▄ ███▄▄▄▄ ███ ███ ███▄▄▄▄ ███ ███ ███ ███ █▌███▐█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███ ███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███ ▄▄▄ ███▀███ ▄ ███ ▄ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ ███▄███ ███▄███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███▄███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███ ███ ███ ███▄███ ███ ▄▄▄ █
█ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███▄▄▄▄ ███▀███ ▀▀▀ ███▀███ ███▀███ ███▀███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███▄▄▄▄ ███ ███ ███▄▄▄▄ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███ ███▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ▄▄▄ ███ ███ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ █
█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒░░░ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ░░░▒▒▒▒▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █
█ ███ ▄▄▄ ███▄███ ███ ███▄███ ███▄███ ███▄███ █
█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█
Nfo file by [dmc]/DGN using Elton's and Morgoth's tools