Jazz Guitar Great John Pizzarelli and the Puget Sound Jazz Band

TACOMA, Wash. – John Pizzarelli, world-renowned guitarist and singer, was hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and repopularizing jazz.” The Toronto Star pegged him as “the genial genius of the guitar.” And The Seattle Times saluted him as “a rare entertainer of the old school.”

Pizzarelli will perform with the University of Puget Sound’s top-rated Jazz Band at the Blue Mouse Theatre in the Procter District, Tacoma, on Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. Tracy Knoop will lead the Puget Sound Jazz Band.

The performance will be the acclaimed musician’s only Northwest appearance. Advance tickets are $10 at the university’s information center in Student Wheelock Center or through tickets.ups.edu. Tickets are $12 at the door. The event is presented by Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound Performing Arts.

Well-established as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of American standards, Pizzarelli has expanded that repertoire by including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, and Antônio Carlos Jobim, and the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team. His themed shows have attracted praise for his lively imagination and boundless talent.

“The ability to infuse pop and jazz with a Chekhovian wisdom about life’s ups and downs is the special gift of John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, long-married musical partners, whose work gets deeper each year,” The New York Times wrote about the couple’s stage show, Grown-Up Songs, at New York’s Café Carlyle.

Pizzarelli has performed on national television shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, and Conan. Last fall, he introduced the solo work of Paul McCartney to his audience through the release of the album Midnight McCartney, following up on a personal suggestion from the former Beatle himself. Throughout his career, Pizzarelli has been heavily influenced by Nat King Cole, to whom he devoted two albums, Dear Mr. Cole and P.S. Mr. Cole.

 “His sound was singular and inspired,” Pizzarelli says. “I’ve always said we’re an extension, a 21st-century version, of what that group was.” 

Pizzarelli started playing guitar at age six, following in the tradition of his father, Bucky Pizzarelli. He received an education playing jazz with his father and the many jazz greats who would influence his work: Benny Goodman, Les Paul, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Slam Stewart. He opened shows for stars such as Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis, and Rosemary Clooney, and, in 1993, he opened Frank Sinatra’s international tour, later joining the celebration for Ol Blue Eyes’ 80th birthday at Carnegie Hall and bringing down the house singing “I Don’t Know Why I Love You As I Do.”     

Pizzarelli’s string of successful albums started in 2000 with Kisses in the Rain, followed by Let There Be Love. On his 2002 album, The Rare Delight of You, Pizzarelli teamed up with veteran pianist George Shearing.

In 2008 the musician’s With a Song in My Heart, celebrating the music of composer Richard Rodgers, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Pizzarelli has married songs from great pop songwriters of his own generation with traditional jazz arrangements and melodies. Double Exposure, released in 2012, united The Beatles and Lee Morgan, Tom Waits with Billy Strayhorn, and The Allman Brothers Band with Wes Montgomery's style. The Guardian, in London, was among the many publications to praise the album.

“The arrangements are sharp and witty, the singing deceptively easygoing, and the guitar playing just terrific. It’s a delight,” the paper wrote.

In 1997 Pizzarelli made his Broadway debut in the musical Dream, a revue of Johnny Mercer songs. He led a 40-member live orchestra at Radio City Music Hall in Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way in 2003, and, in 2009, received the Ella Fitzgerald Award from the Montreal International Jazz Festival, joining a select group of past winners including Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Harry Connick Jr.

FOR TICKETS: Tickets are available online at tickets.pugetsound.edu or Wheelock Information Center, 253.879.3100. Admission is $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

Press photos of John Pizzarelli are available upon request.

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