John Pizzarelli Trio – Vassar College Skinner Hall – September 9, 2017
Pizzarelli is an artist at the top of his game, this dude has it all, even his guitar has an extra string! Did not disappoint from the opening bars to the encore. Waaaaay smoove, he’s got the vocals down, he’s got the ax chops, he’s got the top-shelf sidemen. He’s got the jazz vocalist wife who was present but did not go on stage (shucks!). Pizzarelli comes from good jazz stock, grew up in the trade, so he’s on a first-name basis with a lot of legends, and has a lot of the inside scoop. And the patter is superb. Favorite of the evening: Louis Armstrong performed at Billy Crystal’s bar mitzvah reception; Crystal’s aunt (or grandmother?) suggesting to Armstrong, “Have you tried clearing your throat?”
John Pizzarelli
Ted Rosenthal
Mike Karn