JOHN + SWING 7 = JAZZ HEAVEN

Attend a set by John Pizzarelli and you’re set for a satisfying songfest, whether it’s a solo affair with just the mega-musical Mr. P. playing guitar and singing or sharing the stage with any number of other instrumentalists or singers. His latest of many nestings at Birdland was a midsummer night’s dream, this time with a great group of guys billed as “Swing 7.” And swing they do! They are: pianist Isaiah J. Thompson, drummer Andy Watson, bassist Paul Gill, sax man Chris Byars, trombonist John Mosca, with Tony Kadleck on trumpet and flugelhorn, along with Kenny Berger playing tenor sax and bass clarinet. Smart arrangements, including those by Mr. Byars, allowed for variety and verve, with striking solo/lead moments and shifting combinations of sounds that felt like natural segues and builds.

Also grabbing attention and audience appreciation, as always, was the trademark muscular music that is produced when the most on-fire, fiercest, fastest, fleetest guitar work is matched, note for note by similarly caffeinated vocalizing via vowel sounds, scat style –“doot-da-doo-doot-da-doo” – between sung choruses with the actual lyrics of songs getting the speed drill thrill. And, while we’re on the subject of words, one thing in somewhat disappointing scarcity was the playful personality present in Pizzarelli patter. In many other performances (and in the between-records remarks during the syndicated/online Radio Deluxe broadcasts he co-hosts with his wife, the singer/stage actress Jessica Molaskey), his sense of humor has been more in evidence, with quips and anecdotes. This particular program had too little of that, beyond the cute comment after a bit of historical background on one song, followed by the cute comment, “You don’t get fun facts like this at a Michael Bublé concert.”

As everyone settled in, it was clear that the set list is not set in stone, as there were several times when – cued by his mood or whim or him perhaps assessing or guessing what the listeners favored  – he casually instructed the players to pull out the sheet music to a certain piece from their piles of pages of possibilities. He referred to them by number, rather than title, so as not to spoil any desired surprise for the crowd. (Online evidence indicates that other sets during the five-night run contained some different material.)

Unrushed, the leader seems to be in “comfort zone company” with these talented gentlemen and the repertoire. Most of the selections (and the band members) have appeared over the years on the terrific, prolific Pizzarelli’s albums and past gigs. A much-missed colleague in shows and recordings, father and fellow guitarist – the late Bucky Pizzarelli – was represented by his lovely instrumental composition “Stray Horn,” a punny nod to, of course, jazz legend Billy Strayhorn.

There were three picks each to represent major Great American Songbook giants: Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and the Gershwin brothers. A trio of treats was plucked from the 2010 release Rockin’ in Rhythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington, with arrangements by the late Don Sebesky. Two items from an album dedicated to treats with Mercer lyrics (recorded live at Birdland, by the way) were in the concert – “Dearly Beloved” and an especially tender reading of “Emily.” A livelier Mercer moment came along with “Jeepers Creepers.” The mini-glut of Gershwin was saved for the end of the night, with back-to-back ballads and then sending the audience out of a high with a joyfully uptempo “Oh, Lady Be Good!” And while “good” could be the operative word to describe the work by the reliable veteran and the band, the adjective “good” is much too mild. Pick the superlative of your choice from the thesaurus, or just insert “very, very, very” before the G word.

Post-Birdland, peripatetic Pizzarelli packed his bags to play in such places as California (various cities), Seattle, and locations in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Illinois— all among his musical labors pre-Labor Day.

photos by Andrew Poretz

visit John Pizzarelli for the full schedule

Birdland’s calendar is at Birdland Jazz