Guitarist, singer to play two local shows

For John Pizzarelli, work and play are pretty much the same thing.

The musician enjoys a successful career as a guitarist, band leader and singer. He has numerous recordings, a radio program, an acclaimed autobiography and a family he gets to make music with. Now the renowned guitarist is coming to the Flathead Valley.

Pizzarelli will play two concerts this weekend. The shows also feature a rare appearance by pianist Monty Alexander.

Pizzarelli, son of journeyman swing guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, is a guitarist fond of playful and frisky musical conversations with his band. He also sings, respectfully interpreting the Great American Songbook with easygoing crooning and occasional humor. He is loved around the world for his great shows and warm personality.

He likes to describe his sound as updated old-school. Pizzarelli is quite the showman and has appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Live With Regis and Kelly.”

Regis Philbin said of him, “John Pizzarelli is one of the most entertaining performers you'll ever see on a stage. He's perfection: a musician, a singer, a comedian.”

John Simpson and Miriam Singer, whose Singer and Simpson Productions is responsible for bringing Pizzarelli to the valley, agreed.

“John Pizzarelli is a great showman who puts on a fabulously entertaining show,” they said.

Perhaps Pizzarelli’s most highly regarded and popular recording is “Dear Mr. Cole,” a tribute to Nat King Cole and his most famous songs. In 2009, he received the Ella Fitzgerald Award from the Montreal International Jazz Festival, joining a select group of winners including Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr. and Diane Schuur. 

Pizzarelli has recorded more than 20 albums since 1990, and he has appeared on more than 40 albums of other recording artists, including Paul McCartney, James Taylor and Rosemary Clooney.

Pizzarelli is very proud about being from New Jersey, and fans love to hear his humorous tribute to the Garden State, “I Like Jersey Best.”

He is married to singer Jessica Mollaskey, with whom he performs regularly at Cafe Carlyle in New York, made famous by the legendary Bobby Short. Together they co-host his nationally syndicated radio program “Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli.”

Alexander was born in Jamaica. Though strongly influenced by Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, his style contains playful flavors of the Caribbean.

He was discovered performing in Las Vegas by Jilly Rizzo and Frank Sinatra, who brought him to New York City in the early 1960s to work at Rizzo’s nightclub, Jilly’s, and accompany Sinatra and other performers. There he met Ray Brown and Milt Jackson.

Alexander has performed and recorded with Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones and Bobby McFerrin. In Hal Leonard’s 2005 book, “The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time,” Alexander was listed among the top five.

Making up the rest of the John Pizzarelli Quartet are bassist and John’s brother, Martin Pizzarelli, and drummer Tony Tedesco.

The group performs Saturday at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center and Sunday at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Both shows start at 8 p.m.

Tickets range from $29 to $37. Proceeds will benefit the Steinway Fund, which is paying for the refurbished Steinway grand piano at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Big-name pianists, Glacier Symphony, Alpine Theatre Project, the Whitefish School District and others already have benefited from the top-quality piano.

Purchase tickets to the concerts online at http://singerandsimpson.com. Call (406) 730-2817 for assistance. The concerts are sponsored by Don “K” Subaru.

To learn more about John Pizzarelli, visit johnpizzarelli.com. To find out more about Alexander, visit http://montyalexander.com.