John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey to Perform at Bay Area Cabaret, 1/19

Bay Area Cabaret celebrates the New Year by welcoming back Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli and Broadway actress/singer Jessica Molaskey. The charming husband and wife duo will perform their critically acclaimed Café Carlyle show This Must Be the Place, which The New York Times called, "brilliant," praising Ms. Molaskey as "a singer whose radar yields infallible insight into a song's emotional crosscurrents." Pizzarelli and Molaskey will perform 5pm, Sunday, January 19, at the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason Street. Tickets ($48) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Pizzarelli and Molaskey have perfected the art of performing together, with an on-stage interaction that resembles a musical conversation more than a rehearsed performance. This Must Be the Place explores the idea of "home" and all that it entails with expert musicianship, singular wit, and a painstakingly crafted set list featuring songs by artists ranging from Stephen Sondheim to Tom Petty.

Winner of both the New York Nightlife Award and the Montreal International Jazz Festival's Ella Fitzgerald Award, Grammy-nominated John Pizzarelli has established himself as one of the prime interpreters of the Great American Songbook. The world-renowned jazz guitarist and singer was called "hip with a wink" by Town & Country, "madly creative" by the Los Angeles Times, and "the genial genius of the guitar" by The Toronto Star, and accompanied Paul McCartney on his 2012 album "Kisses on the Bottom," and at the Grammys. Following in the tradition of his father, guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, John began playing guitar at age six. He has since performed with a number of jazz greats, including Benny Goodman, Les Paul, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Slam Stewart, and has opened for such legends as Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis, Rosemary Clooney, and Frank Sinatra.

Jessica Molaskey is a veteran of many Broadway shows, including Parade (directed by Hal Prince), Dream, Tommy, Sunday in the Park with George, Crazy For You, LES MISERABLES, City of Angels, Chess, Cats, and Oklahoma! She has performed off Broadway and regionally in dozens of productions, including A Man of No Importance at the Lincoln Center. Molaskey has premiered music written by Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, Stephen Sondheim, and John Bucchino. Together John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey host a weekly national radio program called Radio Deluxe.

Bay Area Cabaret was founded ten years ago by fifth generation San Francisco native Marilyn Levinson as a not-for profit organization. Through its concert series and wide-ranging outreach activities, BAC aims to expand the definition of cabaret and broaden the audience for intimate entertainment, offering Great American Songbook entries from Harold Arlen and Stephen Sondheim to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joni Mitchell. Past performances have featured Sutton Foster, Barbara Cook, Marvin Hamlisch, Megan Hilty, Christine Ebersole, songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Peter Gallagher, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Stacey Kent and Jane Monheit, Rent stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, and the high school vocal competition Bay Area Teen Idol.

Bay Area Cabaret continues its 10th Anniversary season with one of Broadway's greatest triple threat actresses, Chita Rivera in "Chita Rivera: A Legendary Celebration" (February 23, 2014), Stacey Kent celebrating her new bossa nova CD release "The Changing Lights," (March 15, 2014), rising pop star Morgan James (April 6, 2014), and Karen Mason in "Secrets of the Ancient Divas" (May 18, 2014).

For Bay Area Cabaret patrons, The Fairmont San Francisco offers a delicious buffet dinner in the Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar for $40 (plus tax and tip), plus four hours of free parking for all who dine in the Laurel Court. For more information, visit www.bayareacabaret.org.

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