Review: JOHN PIZZARELLI SWING SEVEN at Birdland Could Warm The Coldest Nights and Hearts

It has been two years, explained John Pizzarelli, since the Swing Seven have played Birdland. Well... at first he wasn't sure how long it had been and the band members had to help him out with the timeline that took everyone out of the clubs and away from life, as the world stopped for the pandemic. Two or three times last night, Mr. Pizzarelli became confused about the black hole that has been the months and months away from the Birdland stage (and, at this point, isn't everyone confused about it?) and the band (and the audience) helped out with the math... but he wasn't confused when it came to the music. For an overwhelmingly generous one hour and forty-five minutes, the jazz great led his band of merry musicians in a set of some fourteen sublimely performed pieces of music that left happy a room full of music lovers who wouldn't have missed this return to the stage. The truth is that nobody who appreciates great music should miss a John Pizzarelli performance - he is an artist and a star, and he can do anything. No matter the order of the evening, it's putty in Pizzarelli's hands - it just happens that last night the order was swing.

With a set made up of compositions by great composers like the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Metheny, and Wright & Forrest, Pizzarelli and co. kept the evening loose and light, but the melodies tight. There appeared to be no real structure to the set, as John (seemingly randomly) repeatedly called out the number of the next chart he wanted the Swing Seven to perform. Casually, he discuss what would, next, happen with the other men on the stage, asking questions about who had a solo within the arrangement and then suggesting additional solos to liven up the performance. "It's best if we talk it through," he explained to the audience near the end of the set, but their on-stage work process needed no clarification for the benefit of the people in the seats. Indeed, part of the fun of the evening was watching these consummate artists at work - not just the work required for the creation of exceptional musical sounds, the craftsmanship that goes into making it right. Watching them relate to one another as technicians, hearing them discuss the factors and choices (and in musical jargon not always quickly understood by someone who is not a musical proficient) was a thrill in real-time. And then, as if in an act of inclusion, Pizzarelli always brought the conversation back to the audience, sharing casual anecdotes about life, his life, the music, the friends, and his famous father - a particular highlight was hearing his hilarious impression of Bucky Pizzarelli's speech pattern, as John set the scene for a performance of Bucky's composition inspired by Billy Strayhorn. In fact, not one moment of his time speaking with the audience last night was wasted - haphazard, yes; off-the-cuff, you bet; casual, certainly. But every extemporaneous word spoken overflowed with joyful purpose born out of the act of appreciation for being back at Birdland, in performance, and at home on the stage.

And the music, oh, the music...

There is a reason that John Pizzarelli has the reputation and the following for which he is well regarded, and as fun, as entertaining, as endearing as his personality is on the stage, it all goes back to the music. Being able to sit in a room and experience the live playing of his guitar, of his singing, of his scat-singing, of his bandleading, is a joy not to be taken for granted. Hearing that famous hearth-warm Pizzarelli voice on evening highlights like "Manhattan" and "Frim Fram Sauce" was heaven at a microphone, and when he starts the "You Medley" with the Van Heusen/Mercer classic "I Thought About You" it's like a musical valium, edible, martini or anything else that helps a person to, immediately, relax. The unquestionable triumph of the night, for this devotee of the Great American Songbook, was an electrifying "Lady Be Good" that put every musician and the band as a whole in the greatest light possible - a performance that was, alone, worth a night out on the town. Whatever the theme of a John Pizzarelli show, whatever compositions he is playing, the resulting music promises to be so supreme an entertainment that you could close your eyes and simply float away on the sounds filling the air... be advised, though, open those eyes from time to time to enjoy the sight of each and every solo from the members of the Swing Seven. Watching these artisans communicate with their instruments is a bonafide thrill to behold, made all the more magnificent through the hearing of the sounds coming out of the instruments, and if you pay attention, you can catch each of them admiring the others' work, ramping up to join in, or adjusting their colleagues' mics for better audience amplification. The camaraderie is the ninth member of the band, the uncredited one that adds that tiny bit more humanity to send you out into the cold night, feeling a little warmer and happier that you dropped in at Birdland for nearly two hours of turning your mind off, and turning your ears on.

The John Pizzarelli Swing Seven are TRUMPET - Bud Burridge, TROMBONE - Mark Patterson. ALTO SAX - Chris Byars, BARITONE SAX - Kenny Berger, PIANO - Isaiah Thompson, BASS -Mike Karn, DRUMS -Andy Watson

The John Pizzarelli Swing Seven will be at Birdland all week and next week The John Pizzarelli Trio plays Birdland with their George Shearing Tribute. For tickets to all John Pizzarelli shows visit the Birdland website HERE.

John Pizzarelli has a website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

To post a comment, you must register and login.