About John Pizzarelli
John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Rosemary Clooney; his father, jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli; and his wife, singer Jessica Molaskey.
The son of swing guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He started on guitar when he was six and played trumpet through his college years. He attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School, an all-boys Catholic school. In his teens, he performed with Benny Goodman, Les Paul, Zoot Sims, Slam Stewart, and Clark Terry.
Pizzarelli attended the University of Tampa and William Paterson University, though he has said that his most important teacher was his father from 1980 to 1990. During the 1980s, he established himself as a jazz guitarist and a vocalist. He released his debut solo album, I'm Hip , in 1983.
During the 1990s, Pizzarelli played in a trio with Ray Kennedy and Martin Pizzarelli, his younger brother. In the summer of 1993, Pizzarelli was the opening act for Frank Sinatra and four years later, Pizzarelli starred in Dream, a Broadway show devoted to the music of Johnny Mercer. He has named Nat King Cole as the inspiration for his career and honors that influence in the albums Dear Mr. Cole and P.S. Mr. Cole . He has also recorded tribute albums to Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Richard Rodgers, and Paul McCartney. He and his father accompanied Annie Ross on her album To Lady with Love , a tribute to Billie Holiday that Ross recorded when she was eighty-four.
He has hosted a national radio show, Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli, with his wife, singer and actress Jessica Molaskey. Other musicians he has worked with include George Shearing, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Frigo, Buddy DeFranco, Jack Gibbons, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
He sang the 1999 big-band jingle for Foxwoods Resort Casino, titled "The Wonder of It All."
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