Word: pizzarelli
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...JOHN PIZZARELLI...
...another Frank Sinatra tribute? Yes, but on this one, singer-guitarist Pizzarelli makes no attempt to evoke the master's sound or mannerisms. A good thing too, since his light, cool voice carries little of Sinatra's sensuality and swagger. Resourcefully backed by the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (at times cut down to nifty combos), Pizzarelli is at his best in hip readings of the insouciant Yes Sir, That's My Baby, the wistful If I Had You and even the trademark Ring a Ding Ding...
...person, the John Pizzarelli Trio brims with galloping vitality and cheeky wit, but its albums have always been slickly overproduced. Here, the singer-guitarist has swapped the fancy overdubs for no-nonsense live-in-the-studio sound, and Pizzarelli, brother Martin on bass and Ray Kennedy on piano finally get to strut their superb stuff. Highlights: John charms to the max on his I Wouldn't Trade You, and the group burns on a Kennedy-penned tribute to master swinger Oscar Peterson called (what else?) Oscar Night...
...Vaux: I like music that everyone else hates, like Journey, Chicago, Yes, and King Crimson. Among the new bands, I really like Jamiroquai. I also listen to a lot of jazz guitar (George Benson, John Pizzarelli) and Armenian folk music...
...John Pizzarelli is more than just an uncannily charming singer. He also plays a hard-charging brand of jazz guitar learned from his father Bucky, a veteran of the Big Band era. On Contrasts, dad and son team up for a dapper program of seven-string-guitar duets (the added bass strings make for an orchestral richness of texture). The bill of fare ranges from high-class standards like The Bad and the Beautiful to such sophisticated novelties as Joe Mooney's Phantasmagoria; the playing is crisp, witty and swings like...