REMEMBERING - New Jersey Jazz Society

JerseyArticlesJazzTalking JazzA Jersey Jazz Interview with John PizzarelliBy Schaen FoxMany of us in the New Jersey Jazz Societyremember John Pizzarelli as the young sonwho played with Bucky Pizzarelli at some of ourearliest Waterloo Jazzfests. Others possiblyremember him as the guitarist who might havegiven us a new state song, but almost gave us anofficial state jingle. Now a few decades on, he isan international star who frequently shares thestage and radio waves with his lovely andtalented wife, Broadway’s Jessica Molaskey. Aftertrying to fit an interview into his very crowdedschedule, we finally made phone time on April27. Not only did the interview feel more like myown private stage performance, but it ended in amost unusual manner.JJ: I love your stage banter. You are such a polished raconteurthat I feel like simply saying “Go” and letting you say what youwill rather than asking questions.JP: OK, perfect, not a problem. [Chuckles]JJ: Yeah, but that would be too easy. There are an impressivenumber of interviews with you on the web. About how manydo you do in a year?JP: I guess whatever city you are going to, you end up doing some sortof interview. So I guess between 25 and 50 a year.JJ: You tell great stories. Have you considered that in thefuture you will not only be a topic of research, but also a source forhistorians?JP: Yeah, I guess so. Sometimes I can’t believe the places I’ve been and thepeople I’ve played with, especially in my early 20s and even in my teens. I waslucky enough to hang out with people like Zoot Sims, Joe Pass and SlamStewart and play with Ray Brown, Marshall Royal, Buddy Tate, Bob Haggard, MiltHinton, Ralph Sutton and Paul Smith; a pretty good list of guys. It’s prettyamazing. [Laughs] To have been in those situations at such an early age waspretty mind blowing as I look back at it. Luckily I didn’t know anything then thatI know now or else I would have been more scared than I was. I’ve taken someof that whenever I do clinics and little experiences that I’ve had on the roadand sort of pass them on and tell stories. They are fun to tell and they arepretty amazing.I like entertaining people andit’s part of the whole package.John Pizzarelli. Photo by Andrew Southam.JJ: And you do tell them so very well.JP: Well, I try. I think it is part of the whole thing. I’ve been playing professionallyfor 30 years and with my own group for 19; so something’s got to happen. Itry to pass those stories on, because it’s part of the entertainment of the show.I like entertaining people and it’s part of the whole package.JJ: I’m one of those who have been watching you since your dadfirst brought you out to play. So I look on your ascent in popularityas succession in the royal line.JP: I’m glad, but it hasn’t been without its bumps in the road. It’s still veryinteresting because of just the process of it all: Being my father’s son; singingon a record in 1983; making three records in the ’80s; making my first sort ofnational record in 1990; then going to RCA the next year; and really touring anincredible amount in those first eight years. It was just wild. I was under theHarry Connick, Jr. radar in the early ’90s so I wasn’t under the scrutiny that a lotof 20-year-olds who come up today are. I was 30 when I finally got to a majorlabel and I had all that music to lean back on. I had played with Zoot Sims, SlamStewart, a lot with my father, I had 10 years of experience and that really wascontinued on page 2624_________________________________ October 2009