Few jazz artists make going to a club more enjoyable than John Pizzarelli. He wins the jazz fans over with his formidable guitar chops on the 7 stringer (which he displays here with elan during “I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side” and “Jamboree Jones”) while his poor-man’s Dean Martin voice delivers comfy reads on standards such as “Skylark” and “Too Marvelous For Words.” Here at the Birdland club in NYC, Pizzarelli displays not only his musical charms, but his ability to “work a room” by delivering clever introductions or jokes to segue into each tune, turning the jazz joint into a talent show by the camp fire.
On a gig like this, Pizzarelli shows his class by not only delivering material by Johnny Mercer that most casual listeners will know, but he pulls out obscure ringers and makes them memorable. When’s the last time anyone did “Slue Foot” or “Empty Tables” or even the closing “And So To Bed,” but Pizzarelli delivers the goods and makes them enjoyable and swingable. The band wich includes Konrad Paszkudzki/p, Martin Pizzarelli/b, Kevin Kanner and a horn section fills in the gaps and works well with the handful of medleys themed around Academy Award Winners, October (As In “Summer Wind”) and the word “You” (as in “I Thought About You”). A gig like this oozes with style, class and fun, with Pizzarelli being one of the best ambassadors for the Great American Songbook. One of his best.