Singer, guitarist, and vocalist John Pizzarelli has jazz in his blood. His father, Bucky Pizzarelli, was a guitarist on many Frank Sinatra recordings and John has spent his four-decades-long career reminding audiences of the genius of Sinatra and other greats, including his hero, Nat King Cole. A recent album with the John Pizzarelli Trio is For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole. It is his way of honoring the man who helped make his career; in 1994, Pizzarelli’s album, Dear Mr. Cole, put the young artist on the map as an influential jazz guitarist and singer.
“Nat King Cole is the reason I do what I do,” he said. “The joy that he brought me has never faded. I love his trio, and the musicality of his group remains fresh and vibrant to this day. We are lucky to have lived in a world that gave us Nat Cole, the man and the music.”
Pizzarelli has been hailed by The Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” Considered one of the prime contemporary interpreters of great American music, he has expanded his repertoire by including the music of Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antonio Carlos Jobim and The Beatles.
In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer, Pizzarelli has been a special guest on recordings for major pop artists like Natalie Cole, Kristin Chenoweth, Rickie Lee Jones and Dave Van Ronk. As well as for jazz artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Buddy De Franco, and, of course, his father. He won a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category as co-producer of James Taylor’s American Standard in 2021. A radio personality who started in the medium in 1984, Pizzarelli is co-host, with his wife Jessica Molaskey, of Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli. He has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Great Performances and at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Pizzarelli is delighted that the Great American Songbook is experiencing a renaissance. “It always seems to go away, but it just steps back,” he said. “The popularity of the songs doesn’t wane; it just goes back into space. Now, more than ever, people are singing these songs.”
His latest album, Stage & Screen, reminds audiences of the music they love and fell in love to. Songs like “Just in Time,” “Where or When,” and “As Time Goes By” are, well, timeless. People have enjoyed them for decades and will continue to enjoy them for decades more.
“We love to entertain and we have fun doing what we do,” he said. “It’s a good way to spend an evening. That’s why it’s called entertainment.”
