CD REVIEW: John Pizzarelli

 

New Jersey Born and world-renowned Guitarist and Vocalist John Pizzarelli recently released his lastest album, "Stage & Screen".  Pizzarelli has dedicated this album to the great songwriters and performers who helped to establish the "Great American Songbook".  His focus is on the Broadway stage and the silver screen:  "In thinking about some of the songs that I really love to play, it struck me how many of them come from either a Broadway show or from a movie".  John shares this "An idea like "Stage & Screen" frees me to explore a wide range of songwriters and eras, and it continues to offer a wealth of new possibilities."

I have followed John's career almost from its beginning when I was stunned by his abilities on the Guitar. In addition he has worked hard on his Vocals and has greatly improved them to the same high performance level as his Guitar playing.  I think John has now achieved professional excellence on both Vocals and Guitar playing.  In many ways, he has develop his own style and approach to music and lyric.  He is comfortable in his current position and the results for all his many listening fans, including me, is an honest, free flowing approach to important music that makes it very accessable.  

 I always thought that Bing Crosby was the people's singer because he makes it seem like he was singing with very little effort.  Listening to Bing, you could easily think  "I could sing like that and I am sure that many people growing up during Bing's era thought they were singing like him everyday in the shower.  John Pizzarelli, like Crosby, brings his own style to every song he sings and plays and makes it seem easy, understandable and accessable.  We think "If I could learn to sing or play like John and I can't I would approach every great song just like he does.  

John brings his own inner voice and feeling to every song he performs.  In today electrified music world,  John Pizzarelli brings warmth and honesty to his Vocals and Guitar skills at a level few performers today even know exist.  He is the kind of guy you want to hang out with all night, playing, talking and laughing!

John is touring again with his wonderful trio of Isaiah J Thompson on Piano and Michael Kern on Double Bass.  The chemistry between these three musicians is quite apparent to any listener.  These three highly trained professionals  perform as one voice!   Don't miss a chance to catch John and his trio when they perform near you, I promise you will leave the theatre whistling and smiling!  Bravo, John Pizzarelli for this great CD and for keeping great music alive!

                                                                 "Too Close For Comfort"

                                                                    "I Want To Be Happy"

PLAYERS:

John Pizzarelli - Guitar, Vocals, Arrangements

Isaiah J. Thompson- Piano

Michael Karn- Double Bass

PLAYLIST:

1. Too Close For Comfort

2. I Love Betsy

3. I Want To Be Happy

4. Tea For Two

5. Just In Time

6. Some Other Time

7. Where or When

8. Oklahoma Suite

9. Time After Time

10. Your're All The World To Me

11. As Time Goes By

12. Coffee In A Cardboard Cup
                                                                    

                    

                                                                    

                                                                    

CD Review: Larry Fuller New CD, "Overjoyed"

Larry Fuller has released his new CD "Overjoyed" and I think its a gem!  Larry Fuller is a masterful pianist who has not only technical expertise but also the ability to emotionally connect with his audiences.  One reason he has this rare combination of skills is because he learned his craft the old fashioned way, on the bandstand.  Larry has varied experience playings with four giants of mainstream Jazz.  He started with legendary Bassist, Ray Brown, then worked with vocalist Ernestine Anderson, moved to the musical wonder, Jeff Hamilton and then joined with acclaimed guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli.  Four top level musicians by any measure and Larry brought and took from each one of them to develop his personal style.

Larry brought Bassist Hassan Shakur and Drummer Lewis Nash to join him to perform a great group of song from the "Great American Songbook" including Jazz, Blues Pop standards and some beautiful originals.

The playlist is a wonderful collection of songs with "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder, "Bossa Beguine" by Oscar Peterson, "Fried Pies" by Wes Montgomery, "Cubano Chant" by Ray Bryant, "Lined with a Groove" by Ray Brown, and the standards, "How Long Has This Been, "Going On"Never Let Me Go", and "Mona Lisa".

Larry Fuller is a Jazz giant and tours around the country.  When he is in your area,  let nothing stay in your way to see him perform live.  I guarantee it will be a musical treat you will not forget!

PLAYLIST:
1. "Fried Pies"
2. "Overjoyed"
3. "Lined With A Groove"
4. "Jane's Theme"
5. "The Mooch"
6. "How Long Has This Been Going On"
7. "Cubano Chant"
8. " Mona Lisa"
9. "Bossa Beguine"
10. "Bossa Nova Do Marilla"
11. "Never Let Me Go"
12. "Go My Mojo Workin"

Players:
Larry Fuller- Piano
Hassan Shakur- Bass
Lewis Nash-Drums
  
I have attached two "YouTubes" from Larry Fuller's terrific new CD "Overjoyed"  The first is Wes Montgomery's "Fried Pies" and the second is Stevie Wonder's class "Overjoyed".

CD Review: Kim Nazarian "Some Morning"

As a music reviewer I have the privilege of being introduced to many great new singers.  Kim Nazarian is not a great singer.  She is a brilliantly talented singer with vocal chops and exceptional timing that every singer yearns for!  Some singers can do ballads, some singers can scat along with up tempo tunes but Kim can do it all.  Her voice is golden and her approach to lyrics is spot on perfect.  Kim has the ability to enhance lyrics without getting in the way.  The result captures the essence of emotion that the composer had in mind, together with fitting her own personality into each song making them her own.  Grammy Award-nominee Kim Nazarian gained fame as a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Jazz vocal group, "New York Voices".

Kim is joined on this CD by the five time Grammy Award-winning producer and Trombonist Jay Ashby.  All the tunes on this CD are arranged in whole or in part by Ashby with help from Kim on several.  The arrangements are Sinatra-perfect and fit both Kim and the talented musicians on this CD perfectly!   Jay Ashby's Trombone performances are pure magic on this CD. The list of contributing musicians is wonderful including special guests: Gary Burton, Paquito D'Rivera, Sean Jones, and John Pizzarelli.  

Kim Nazarian's "Some Morning" is a sensationally good CD.  And how do I know that?  I tried to select a cut from this CD that would give you a feel of Kim's great singing and the fine talents of the musicians with her.  It took me an hour to select the two cuts below that I found on "YouTube" because I couldn't decide which ones were the best.  I loved every cut on the CD!

The First cut below is called "Robbin's Nest Boneology"  and it's a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Trombonist JJ Johnson. It will show the extent of Kim's vocal skills and Ashby's mellow Trombone sounds that blend perfectly together.

The Second "YouTube"  presents the song "Tell Him I Said Hello" that is a tribute to Better Carter from her big band vocalist, taking on a Bossa Nova spin.  This cut also contains a terrific Clarinet Solo from the brilliant Paquito D'Rivera.

CD Review: John Pizzarelli "Double Exposure"

                                                               

John Pizzarelli has a terrific new CD that was born out of John's creative musical talents. For those of you familiar with John's performances, you know he always creates his own particular paths to music.  Never satisfied with simply covering a great standard, John looks for new and creative ways to bring some of himself to the tune and something new to the listener. This approach is not without risk but pushing the musical envelope is what John Pizzarelli is all about. For this CD, John wanted to find a way to present some great old standards and some great old rock and roll tunes. While John has always been faithful to the "Great American Songbook", he also has a love of the great songs of the rock and roll area. However, there is no way would John would be interested in cutting a new CD of simple covers of these songs.  John came up with the idea of combining two songs or different sounds from different times together.

We had the pleasure of hearing John perform some of the songs on his new CD in January at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Ca. The songs were simply outstanding. The first song John performed and also the first song on the CD was a combination of the Lennon/McCartney song "I Feel Fine" with the Lee Morgan classic "Sidewinder".  Hard to visualize what this final song would sound like but it was just outstanding.  John refers to the final product as "Lennon and McCartney meet Lee Morgan".  Next, John did an arrangement of Tom Watts' "Drunk On The Moon" combined with the great Billy Stayhorn tune "Lush Life". Next, Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was given an influence of "Shine On Harvest Moon" producing a new musical gem.

There are 13 songs on this CD and each and every one has a story fully developed on the liner notes. I have to describe one additional song on the CD that was simply breathtaking.  The James Taylor song "Traffic Jam" was rebuilt with the influence of Joe Henderson's "The Kicker". John's  wife, the talented Jessica Molaskey wrote some terrific new lyrics and added her voice. John's description of this tune was "James Taylor and Joe Henderson as seen through the eyes of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross thanks to Jessica Molaskey's wonderful lyrics".

John Pizzarelli has been working hard for years on his trade with much success. His guitar performances have always been top notch, but now his singing and his creative arranging abilities have brought him into a special class of outstanding musicians. This is a CD that needs to be in your collection.

List of Songs:

"I Feel Fine"/ "Sidewinder"
"Harvest Moon"
"Traffic Jam"/ "The Kicker"
"Ruby Baby"
"Alison"
"Rosalinda's Eyes"
"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"
"Drunk On The Moon" "Lush Life"
"Walk Between The Raindrops"
"Free Man In Paris"
"Take A Lot Of Pictures"
"I Can Let Go Now"
"Diamond Girl"   

John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey, A Dynamic Duo

On Tuesday, October 12, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending  the John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey show, "The Heart of a Saturday Night" at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City. First, if there is a more intimate or romantic cafe setting in the US, I have yet to discover it. Each time I get to hear John Pizzarelli he just keeps getting better. He is never  satisfied with his past performances and keeps pushing the envelope with his playing, singing and song selection skills. But the skill I like the most is his ability to take a "standard" that we all know well and perform it in a new arrangement that makes the song new again. This was the first time that I had the pleasure of hearing John's wife, Jessica Molaskey perform live and I really enjoyed her selection of songs and wonderful voice.  I heard her sing on CDs and radio shows but actually seeing her sing in person was a real treat.  She presents herself as a seasoned professional. Prior to the show I wondered how the voices of John and Jessica and their different approach to songs would sound once they sang together. After the first few songs, I had no further questions. While both performers have a very different approach to the songs they love, the warmth and  mutual respect they generate provides the bridge between their styles. I know a lot about John's background and family, and I can only guess that Jessica has been fully assimilated into the new Pizzarelli extended family. It really works for both of them and lifts them to a higher level of performance. I am not going to review all of the great songs they performed as the "New York Times" has an excellent review you can look up on line.  However, there was one song that I must mention. It started with John singing a soft and lush version of Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings" and then a seamless entrance of Jessica's voice singing parts of the wonderful Jonathan Larson song "Seasons of Love" from the musical "Rent".  The show runs through Nov 6th.  If you can get to see this show, it is really worth the effort.  John and Jessica, thank you for the wonderful evening, and please plan to do more shows together in the near future!