Review: John Pizzarelli & the Swing 7 Plus Jessica Molaskey at Birdland
By: Stephen Sorokoff Jul. 28, 2019
The man who has a supreme dexterity with words, who possess an ability to weave them together and create harmonious and engrossing ideas came to see the man ( and woman) who do the same with music notes last night at Birdland. Stephen Holden the esteemed music and theatre critic of the New York Times, now retired came to hear John Pizzarelli and his special but not surprising guest (wife) Jessica Molaskey.
Mr.Holden in his years at the New York Times was read by millions who valued his remarkable ability to chronicle and critique a performance. A positive review from him assisted many careers and his quotes are still headlined on performers press releases.
Stephen hardly goes to Cabaret in retirement. As he said to me, "I've seen it all in 35 years". However he did come to Birdland to see one of his absolute favorites John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey.
They are quite frankly the best in this business and rather then try to describe their exhilarating performance last night I think it wise to revisit Stephen Holden's words in one of his prior reviews of John & Jessica at Birdland as it appeared in the New York Times.
"I could exhaust my list of superlatives describing how Ms. Molaskey and Mr. Pizzarelli's musical and comedic repartee sustains an easygoing sophistication that is unmatched in my nightclub experience. They can come up with brilliant moments of musical trompe l'oeil, as in their affectionate re-creation of the sound of Les Paul and Mary Ford in an original song, "Tried Too Hard for Too Long," or position songs together (Stephen Sondheim's "Sorry- Grateful" and Paul Simon's "Hearts and Bones") to contemplate the stresses of marriage.
At their deepest, they can take you on a journey that leaves your eyes moist. In their fusion of "The Circle Game" and "Waters of March," Ms. Molaskey's light, happy-sad voice floated you into a time warp where you were all ages at once, looking forward and back. This inspired fusion of Joni Mitchell and Antonio Carlos Jobim is something to experience."
The current engagement of John Pizzarelli is with his swing 7. The way Gianni Valenti is able to present the best in the music world with great food at affordable prices is a gift to NYC. Mr. Pizzarelli will be tributing Benny Goodman next week with an added special guest jazz great Clarinetist Ken Peplowski.
Article & Photos by Stephen Sorokoff
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