John Pisano with Howard Alden@Spazios 03.04.08
By George W. Harris

Guitarist John Pisano, holding the chair at Tuesday Guitar Night at Spazios for over a decade, is still able to fill the house with fans and the room with joyful music. The recipe, as any Italian cook will tell you, are simple: letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Pisano’s guitar work and attitude is fluid and swinging, perfectly suited for single not runs or full bodied chordal support for any guest guitarist. This evening, 7-stringer Howard Alden flew in from New York simply to partake in the evenings delightful sharing of musical flavors. Songs like “How About You” and “If I Had You” spotlighted Alden’s fluid and rapid single note runs, bouncing off of Pisano’s chordal rhythms. “What’s New” had Alden creating a rapturously gorgeous intro, tap dancing over the frets while Pisano’s note bending lyricism was gracious and sublime. All evening long, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Kendall Kay provided upbeat and taut support. Breezing through a romantic “Corcovado” and closing to a strummingly buoyant “Stomping At The Savoy”, Pisano joked, “Boy, these rehearsals really pay off!” Music this vibrant can’t be practiced, it must be lived, and lived it was this memorable-yet-typical Tuesday night.