October 9, 2025 • 28 mins
John Pizzarelli is a guitarist and singer who has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” He’s been established as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook and has even expanded that repertoire by including the music of Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles.
In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer, Pizzarelli has been a special guest on recordings for major pop names such as Natalie Cole, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Wopat, Rickie Lee Jones and Dave Van Ronk, as well as leading jazz artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Johnny Frigo, Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen and, of course, his father Bucky Pizzarelli. He won a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category as co-producer of James Taylor’s American Standard in 2021.
He has performed on America’s most popular national television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and Great Performances, as well as the talk shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And my favorite fun fact, the wonder of it all, is that he was the singer in the popular Foxwoods Casino commercials for just under a decade.
This October, he will be one of the featured headliners at the Jazz at the Point Festival hosted by the South Jersey Jazz Society.
Stay tuned to drop in on one of our most relaxed conversations with the delightful John Pizzarelli.
Thanks for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (00:03):
This is Gina Marie Rodriguez, and you're
listening to the Jersey Artspodcast.
I have to say, I love talkingto fellow radio hosts.
Oh wait, I'm a podcast host.
Are the two comparable?
Alright, well while I have acrisis of identity, I'll let you
guys decide.
But my point is, radio hoststend to know how to gab with the
(00:25):
best of them.
And John Pizzarelli is noexception.
Today's guest is the charmingand personable host of Radio
Deluxe with John Pizzarelli.
But that's not all he's knownfor.
Borrowing from his website'sbiography, I can say that he is
a guitarist and singer who hasbeen hailed by the Boston Globe
for reinvigorating the GreatAmerican Songbook and
repopularizing jazz.
(00:45):
He's been established as one ofthe prime contemporary
interpreters of the GreatAmerican Songbook, and has even
expanded that repertoire byincluding the music of Paul
McCartney, Joni Mitchell, NeilYoung, Tom Waits, Antonio Carlos
Javim, and the Beatles.
In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer,
Pizzarelli has been a specialguest on recordings for major
(01:06):
pop names such as Natalie Cole,Kristen Chenowitz, Tom Wopat,
Ricky Lee Jones, and Dave VanRonck.
As well as leading jazz artistssuch as Rosemary Clooney, Ruby
Braff, Johnny Frigo, BuddyDeFranco, Harry Allen, and of
course, his father, BuckyPizzarelli.
He won a Grammy Award in thebest traditional pop vocal album
category as co-producer ofJames Taylor's American Standard
(01:29):
in 2021.
He's also performed onAmerica's most popular national
television shows such as TheTonight Show, starring Jimmy
Fallon, Conan, and greatperformances, as well as the
talk shows of Jay Leno, DavidLetterman, Regis Bilbin, and the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And my favorite fun fact, andperhaps the wonder of it all, is
that he was the singer in thepopular Foxwoods casino
(01:51):
commercials for just under adecade.
And this October, he will beone of the featured headliners
at the Jazz at the PointFestival, hosted by the South
Jersey Jazz Society.
Stay tuned to drop in on one ofmy most relaxed conversations
with the delightful JohnPizzarelli.
So first, I was just talking touh Skye about this, though the
(02:12):
weather is absolutely insanehere.
But you're in Florida, so I'mhoping that it's nicer there for
you.
John Pizzarelli (02:17):
No, yeah, I'm I'm playing down here in
Orlando.
So uh it's uh hot and humid andugly, but I know it's raining
up north, but I'm coming hometomorrow, so uh I'm actually
looking forward to the rain, anduh it's a nice time of year
when you can put a sweater on.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:34):
I mean, I guess a lot of people do enjoy
the fall.
I like the summer, and I feellike Jersey just hasn't had
enough summer lately.
Like there's so many grayskies, and I'm missing it.
John Pizzarelli (02:44):
Yeah, and it you know, I remember as a kid
the the there weren't enoughshore days in the uh summer.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
Were you sorry, that was thatcame out wrong.
Do you live in New York now orNew Jersey?
John Pizzarelli (02:59):
I live in New York.
I I've been in the city for 30years.
My parents, though, uh were inuh Saddle River for all well for
most of their married life, andthat my mother was uh from
Waldwick and my father fromPatterson.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:13):
I love it.
Jersey families.
John Pizzarelli (03:16):
Yes, and uh, you know, I I have fond memories
of uh of growing up in NewJersey.
It was it was it was quite awonderful time in the in the 70s
and 80s to be around there.
It was just there were a lot ofgreat places to work.
I met a lot of great people whoare still friends of mine
today.
And I went to a day camp and uhcalled Knights Day Camp in
(03:36):
Upper Saddle River that is uhclosed uh 40 years ago, and uh I
still remember it like it wasyesterday.
I had so much fun there.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:46):
Oh my gosh, that's awesome! I was
gonna ask you, did you have afavorite place to play?
But I meant music, although thesummer camp is awesome.
John Pizzarelli (03:54):
Summer camp was great.
Uh I used to play at a placecalled Nobody's Inn in Mawa, New
Jersey.
I did Tuesdays and Sundaysthere uh for uh oh at least 20
years.
And it was like a it was likehome base, and it was there, it
was there was a familial aspectto it because I just knew
everybody who worked there, anduh I worked there with um my
(04:16):
rock band sometimes on theweekends, and then I did my solo
act there, well, solo act whereI would just play standards.
I did Sunday night dinners sixto nine.
I did Tuesdays like nine toone, and then I played a place
in um I a dear friend of minenamed Grover Kemble, who was a
sort of a New Jersey fixture.
Uh, we worked together in NewBrunswick at a place called
(04:38):
Ryan's and uh R-H-Y-A-N-S.
And we play in the window.
It was on George Street, andyou'd play in the window, and
and there'd be a bunch of peopleand a bar along the side.
I think Jim Gandalfini mighthave been a bartender when I was
there.
And uh uh you looked up, andthen there was a staircase, and
(05:01):
then there was even an upstairspeople would look down at you,
and uh, we had a lot of funthere.
Grover and I would do onenight, then my band would do one
night, and Grover's band didone night.
We uh we sort of owned thatplace for a while, so there were
a lot of it was a there was areally fun new uh music scene.
And as I look at my friends uhwere out there, there's still
places where there's live music,and it's really sort of fun to
(05:23):
see bands still out thereplaying Alman Brothers.
Gina Marie Rodrigue (05:27):
Absolutely.
It's so funny that you bring upNew Brunswick because I'm I'm a
Ruckers girl, so of course Iknow George Street, but I've
never heard James Gandalfinireferred to as Jim Gandalfini,
so that just gave me some somejoy right there.
John Pizzarelli (05:41):
Yeah, it was funny because there was and
there was a famous actor uh uhnamed Roger Bart who uh also uh
worked at the bar.
And so I think it was one ofthose things where we didn't
realize we were we were allworking in the same place.
And I know Mario Batali workedat stuff your face around the
corner, and uh it was a wildtime.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:03):
I did not know that, so I'm learning a lot
today.
I did know that Roger Bart andJames Gandalvini had both gone
to Mason Gross.
I didn't realize that they mayhave been contemporaries, I
guess.
John Pizzarelli (06:13):
Yeah, they may they may have worked together.
I know Roger, Roger did uhTommy with my wife on Broadway
uh in the early 90s, and uhthey're they're quite good
friends still to this day.
So uh that's how we I was like,wait, wait a second, you worked
at Ryan's while I was atRyan's, you know, one of those
kind of things.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:30):
Yeah, that's so cool.
I love that.
I love when like it's sixdegrees of separation, etc.
Yeah, it's crazy, yeah.
John Pizzarelli (06:36):
And and the people who still say, Oh, I was
at Ryan's when you were there,and they remember the nutty
things that we did, and and uhthe nobody's in people still
find me out in the world andsay, you know, I was there every
Tuesday night, and it wasreally uh fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:50):
I love that.
I love that.
John Pizzarelli (06:52):
I I actually I even found the other day uh I I
played the last night that itwas nobody's in, or the last
week.
I did I went back and did aTuesday night, and Les Paul came
in and sat right in front ofme.
He came from his house in Mawa,and I found the pictures a
picture of Les Paul looking upat me while I'm playing.
So that was uh uh you knowcrazy.
(07:12):
That kind of stuff happened allthe time.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:15):
Wow, that is amazing.
Did you say you just found thatphoto?
John Pizzarelli (07:19):
Uh yeah, I found the photo.
I had it in yeah, it was one ofthose things where you know I'm
old, so I was like looking in afile and I was like, Oh, I had
nothing to do.
I was on a gig and you know, Ihad the whole day off, and I was
just going through my photos,and I was like, Oh, there's the
Les Paul photo is crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:34):
That's so cool.
I love I love those stories.
I wanted to ask you because youyou mentioned it very briefly,
that you had been in a rock bandwhen you were younger
initially, but I think I hadheard you say in in previous
interviews that it was Nat KingCole that kind of turned you
back to jazz.
So do you mind if I ask you howyou feel about Nat today?
John Pizzarelli (07:54):
Oh, yeah.
Well, that was the thing isthat um uh I started working uh
with a buddy of mine.
Uh we went to Don Boscotogether, and he lived in Mawa,
and I lived in Saddle River.
And then when I came back fromcollege, I did three semesters
in Tampa, the University ofTampa, because they accepted me.
(08:16):
And I came home and we went toWilliam Patterson and we met on
the campus together.
And he said, Hey, uh, I got agig for us on uh uh Monday
nights in a little Italianrestaurant in Tapan, New York,
and we would play standards, andthat's where I started to learn
a lot of standards, and Ilearned a lot of standards
working with my father.
But it was this guy's sisterwho introduced me to a record by
(08:40):
a guy from uh Clifton orMontclair.
His name was Frank Weber, andhe made a record of Straighten
Up and Fly Right, and which wasa big Nat Cole hit.
And so I learned it.
The long the long story short,I learned that song and then got
all the Nat Cole records werere-released right at that time,
(09:00):
the trio records, and that waslife-changing because I didn't
know any songs that weren't uhyou know connected to Sinatra or
Tony Bennett or uh singers thatI couldn't emulate in a sense.
Uh, but the Nat Cole thing hadjazz and it had a sense of humor
(09:21):
and it and um and vocally forme it was an easy place to start
singing Route 66 and all that.
So uh my father would joke, hesaid, You're the only guy who
plays jazz uh to support hisrock and roll habit because I I
would make money with my fatherworking all these great gigs and
then still sneak out on, well,not sneak out, but I I had a
(09:43):
little rock band that I lovedplaying in, and I'd go to you
know, nobody's in, and I I hadthis idea that maybe I was gonna
be a singer-songwriter likeJames Taylor or Jackson Brown or
somebody like that.
So that's where all the NewJersey club dates were those
kind of things.
And then my father'd say, Youwant to make some money?
I'll take you to a real gig.
And you know, I'd and then Istarted to actually make records
(10:07):
singing Nat Cole songs.
I actually made a couple ofalbums when uh in 83, 85, and
87.
And uh, so I was cultivatingthis uh jazz career.
I just sort of fell into it,you know, it was crazy.
And then I when I when Irealized I was I was living by
myself in a in a little guarddepartment in Ramsey, that I was
(10:28):
like, I guess I'm making aliving doing this, you know, it
was crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (10:31):
Speaking of your dad, I mean, he himself
was a renowned jazz guitarist,but I'm I'm wondering if you you
ventured into rock because youdidn't want to be like your dad
at first, or maybe you weretrying to do something on your
own.
I don't know.
I guess I'm wondering like ifyou felt that you needed to
follow in his footstepseventually.
John Pizzarelli (10:50):
No, you know, I just loved the Beatles when I
was a kid.
Uh my sisters had all theBeatles records, and we would
listen to them, and we likedwatching the movies, help and
Hard Days Night, and thought,wow, this is really cool.
And that was a way, and mybuddy, uh, who I went to grammar
school with in high school, hisname was Steve Lafayoska, and
he was he was like, he likedplaying the guitar, but he
(11:12):
didn't have any equipment.
And he was like, Well, you gotamps and guitars in your house.
Let's start a band.
You got all the stuff.
You know, my father had theamps and the guitars, and uh, it
was just a way to play dancesand make a little money.
And and there wasn't, and myfather was always like, he loved
the fact that we were working,you know, that we were get had a
band and all, you know, it wastoo loud for him, and he maybe
(11:34):
didn't get some of the music,but he was always like, Oh,
how'd your gig go?
Oh, your gig was good, oh,that's great, you know, and and
it was just, I mean, honestly,it was sort of sheer luck that I
I ended up in the familybusiness, quote unquote, playing
jazz.
And uh uh, and my father wasalways just like, Well, if
you're you're making a livingplaying music was a good thing.
(11:55):
So he would never said, youknow, do this.
We were always out theretrying, and whatever was stuck
to the wall, we went in thatdirection, you know.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (12:05):
Well, I I mean, obviously it worked out
well for you, so that's good.
John Pizzarelli (12:08):
I was I was very pleased with the way it
turned out.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (12:12):
Uh, you know, I guess I'll ask you since
we're we're on that train ofthought, I ask this of every
professional musician that Ispeak to.
What is your advice for youngaspiring artists who want to go
pro?
John Pizzarelli (12:25):
That's a very good question.
You know, as a matter of fact,I'm playing down here.
I have I've had a number of uhyoung piano players now over the
past uh 10 years, who havebeen, you know, literally just
out of college.
And you know, my feeling to mysaying to them was I I've never
(12:47):
been one to like say, you gottado it this way or you gotta do
it that way.
I mean, I was always like, forme, learn the songs, uh, have a
repertoire so that you know, ifI say, Do you know that song?
You say, Yeah, I know thatsong.
I learned all these songs.
I learned a lot of them when Iwas with my father and on
bandstands with hiscontemporaries.
And so, you know, find a placewhere you can where you can uh
(13:11):
work on that part of it.
Because I think that was a bigthing that I did too, was I sat
in these little clubs in NewJersey, and sometimes uh more
often than not, people didn'tlisten.
But I you always knew there wasone listener.
I realized that too.
That was one of those thingswhen you thought, eh, I'm gonna
relax, I'm gonna have a beerbefore I go back for the next
set, and then I'd be on the nextset, and I'd there'd be
(13:34):
someone, and you'd go, Oh, Ishouldn't have had that beer.
I shouldn't be really thinkingabout doing this.
And it was all those littlelessons that I learned from
playing those gigs.
And I think those kinds ofgigs, no matter what they pay,
are instrumental in helping youget uh to somewhere, to a goal.
You know, it might not just beum uh my group right off the
(13:58):
bat, which is a successful band,but it might just be, you know,
you just you make your way towhen the when the phone rings
and it's that somebody, youknow, that's the thing that's
happened to me in in these past15 years.
You know, James Taylor calls meon the phone and you're like,
oh, I can do that, sure.
You know, I mean, those are thethings you worked and practiced
(14:20):
for is when Paul McCartneycalls up and says, We want you
to play rhythm guitar on thisrecord, and you're like, Yeah, I
can do that.
You know, I've I got to workwith uh Michael McDonald at the
Carlisle Hotel, and that was abig deal, you know.
And then I was like, I can dothat, and I I can show him what
I can do, so make the gig easierfor him.
And all those hours spent inall those clubs running around
(14:44):
George Street and and FranklinTurnpike were were uh
instrumental in making uh youknow and guiding the way that to
what I wanted to do.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (14:55):
So have a repertoire, be ready.
I think that's excellent.
John Pizzarelli (14:59):
Yeah, I don't know.
I I don't know if I answeredthe question, but that's the
thing.
Yeah, practice.
You did make sure you're ready.
So when somebody calls you forthe gig, you're ready to you you
have the you have a repertoire,or if there's somebody you want
to work with, make sure you'rereally familiar with their
material.
I know there's the PatMathaney's story was he loved
Gary Burton's and he learned allof Gary Burton's songs and
(15:19):
said, I want to sit in.
And they said, Well, you know,we do all original music.
And I well, I know all themusic.
And and he got in the band, youknow, and those kinds of things
uh I look for in a piano playerwhen, you know, or a bass
player, it's like, yeah, I know,I know your stuff.
Let's go.
And that's you know, that's abig part of of getting out there
and and uh the first part ofyou know the professional
(15:43):
relationship you hope to have inyour career.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (15:46):
Well, you were certainly ready when Paul
McCartney called you.
So I I need to ask you, as afan of the Beatles growing up,
what what did that mean to youwhen Paul McCartney wants to
work with you?
John Pizzarelli (15:57):
Oh, that was that was crazy.
I mean, uh I was very luckybecause I had established myself
uh as a uh you know a rhythmguitar player or a jazz
guitarist, the type that theywanted for that record.
So when Tommy La Puma, the theproducer of that record, who had
done breezing with GeorgeBenson and he did all the Diana
(16:17):
Karall records, he did MichaelFranks, all these great records.
And when he called me, said, Ineed you to do this, I was like,
Yeah, I can do that.
And um it was quite wonderful.
I mean, to to be in the roomwith this guy who, when I was
six, I was holding a cardboardguitar in front of the uh
turntable, faking, you know,can't buy me love.
(16:38):
And uh to sit in a room withhim and watch him work was quite
wonderful, magical, you know,just and go, oh, I know why this
guy's so famous, because heknows what he wants and he knows
how to do it.
And uh and he was and the bestpart was he was uh just
genuinely terrific person, whichI was so like so happy to be
(17:01):
able to say that.
I suppose, like, I really can'ttalk about Paul McCartney, you
know.
He was just great, and I gotyou know, got to meet a lot of
people on that date too, JoeWalsh and uh just to be around
this whole amazing group ofpeople uh making music.
That was you know, that was aroom I was really fortunate to
(17:21):
be in.
And the same thing with Taylorwhen he called up and said, I
want to do two guitars and dostandard songs, and I need you
to help me do that.
I was like, Well, I spent a lotof time learning your songs, so
let's go do this, you know.
And it was just uh it's uh itwas very it's amazing what where
the guitar has brung me.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (17:41):
Speaking of being a fan of someone and
eventually getting to work withthem, can I tell you a
ridiculous story and hopefullyit won't make you too
uncomfortable?
No, don't so when I was growingup, you were the Foxwoods guy.
I may have been in love withyou for as like a 12-year-old,
and I really wanted to go toFoxwoods.
(18:03):
My mother was like, Gina,you're not going to a casino.
You don't need to be at acasino.
And then I was like, But mom,he told me to meet him at
Foxwoods.
John Pizzarelli (18:13):
He's like, he was not talking to you.
No, that's very sweet becauseit was uh that was another thing
that just fell in my lap.
I went to uh do the session,and uh Hansibia had written this
great arrangement.
He said, No, you gotta sing it.
I was like, When I gotta singthis thing, yeah, just sing it.
And the the director of thecommercial was there and said,
(18:35):
You should be in thiscommercial.
And I was like, Yeah, I shouldbe in this commercial.
I didn't even think it wasanything.
And literally by the end of theday, there were the plans to
shoot the commercial, and it wasuh it was quite a uh remarkable
thing, ran for about seven oreight years.
Everybody saw it and uh it wasvery good to me.
So that's uh I'm I'm fine withthat.
(18:55):
Thank you very much.
Very soon.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (18:58):
Of course.
I'm glad I didn't make it tooawkward.
We'll move on from that,though.
I've totally moved on, it'sokay.
Um, all right, let's let'sactually talk about where you're
gonna be in Jersey.
You're gonna be a featuredheadliner at the Jersey Fresh
Jazz at the Point Festival.
So we were talking about youryou know previous experiences in
New Jersey.
So is there anything you'relooking forward to with this
(19:18):
upcoming performance?
John Pizzarelli (19:20):
I always like the drive down the parkway.
It's one of my favorite things.
Making my way doing that uh isis uh it brings back a lot of
memories for me to get to godown that way.
And uh uh I get I I getstupidly nostalgic for the signs
and all the and the the stopsand the things, and and the guys
(19:43):
in the group, if I bringanybody with me, if you know
sometimes we'll share, you know,I'll drive and piano player
will come with me, Isaiah or uhor the guys together.
And uh I just say, Well, youknow, that exit, and then you
know, I used to go and then overthere was another thing, and
then down that place.
And uh even my wife sort of fedup with it now.
(20:04):
You know, when I when we drive,if I go on Route 17 or Route 4,
and I just start to and shegoes, I understand this has to
happen every time we do this.
And I just say, Well, that'swhere I bought the Nat Cole
record.
It was a Sam Goodies in there,you know, or the down the
parkway, and you you know whereexit 98 was took us to
Jenkinson's at Point Pleasant,and that was a big deal, you
(20:26):
know.
So I I am uh, you know, I Ilive in New York, but New
Jersey's in my blood.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (20:33):
I love that, and I love the nostalgia.
For me, I I suffer from highwayhypnosis, so I could never say
that I enjoy driving down theparkway because there have been
times where I have almost fallenasleep, and that's very bad.
For anybody listening, don't dothat.
John Pizzarelli (20:46):
You know, it's funny.
I used to do that.
Um, I when I I would work atnight's day camp that one
summer, 84 and 85, and uh, youknow, I'd work from nine to four
and go home and shower, andthen uh, you know, I'd had to
get in the car at six.
It was always seemed like itwas a longer drive, but I
remember going those kinds ofthings and driving home at
(21:07):
night.
And sometimes I'd pull off atMadison Hill.
So I would stop the car andjust I'd fall asleep for a
second.
It was it was amazing, and nowI'm I'm so happy to be on the
road, and you know, I'm like uhand uh it's much more exciting.
I don't know why it keeps meawake now, but uh when it was
younger and I was falling, Iwould be drowsy in a lot of
(21:28):
those little areas, but it is uhit's just a fun ride for me
now.
I just sort of I love the Ijust there's the the highlights
of the signs and certain exitsthat lead to stories that drive
everyone crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (21:41):
Well, I'm glad it's fun for you now
because it's also much saferthat way.
Yes, behind the wheel.
Um, you mentioned before thatyour your wife is also a
performer, and I mean, obviouslyyou've kind of surrounded
yourself by family who is uh inthe musical industry.
And I'm just as someone whodoesn't really have that niche
within my family who's in thearts, I'm wondering what's that
(22:04):
like?
Like you just get to go homeand enjoy your career at home as
well.
I I didn't phrase thatcorrectly, but do you know what
I'm trying to get at?
John Pizzarelli (22:13):
I I totally know what you mean.
And I I mean it was um therewere certain things about
working with Bucky.
Well, I call him Bucky, my dad,that uh, you know, we were we
sort of my father used to alwayssay, You can't beat blood.
He was always, you know, it'slike when we and we would we
were sort of mean about it too.
We'd get in the car and we'dgo, Yeah, we know what we're
(22:34):
doing tonight, you know, let'sgo get him, you know.
And we were always uh we hadspent so many times, so many
hours in clubs where we wouldplay for four hours or here, or
we'd play a three-hour gigthere.
And so then when we had to playa concert somewhere, we had an
easy hour of material, and thatkind of thing was always got us
(22:55):
energized, you know.
And when Jessica and I like wewere just sitting together a
couple of weeks ago at our thewhat we call the cabin that
Foxwood's uh built, uh, and wewere just talking about stuff,
and we came, you know, and andjust through this little
conversation, as we're now on inuh our radio show's on in
Newark.
Uh Radio Deluxe is on WBGO onMondays, Tuesdays, and
(23:19):
Wednesdays, uh radio show we'vehad forever for 20 years.
And the you know, just sittingtogether and talking about what
we're gonna do for a gig at theCarlisle, and all of a sudden
we're like, oh, there's thetheme and here's the thing.
And we uh and we have the samekind of relationship that way.
It's like, I think we can dothis, this, yeah.
And we have a great uh it'sit's it's a wonderful way to uh
(23:42):
to be to have that in thein-house kind of sensibility.
Even if it's I'm just going todo something and I'll say, What
do you think I should do?
We were looking at recordcovers this morning, and well,
maybe try this.
That looks good.
You know, you have somebody tobounce it off of who has um a
little has a similar idea towhat uh you're thinking, you
(24:03):
know, and we've we've had thatfor almost 30 years, so it's
pretty good.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (24:08):
That really is the coolest thing I've
ever heard.
And I I always talk to thesecouples who work in the same
industry together, and I envyyou a little bit, a little bit.
But who knows?
Maybe maybe one day I'll meetsomeone who also works in the
arts.
Uh who knows?
That's it.
That said, I did want to askbefore we end, sure.
(24:29):
Stage and screen um was is thatyour latest album?
John Pizzarelli (24:34):
Yeah, that's the one that's out right now.
Yeah.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (24:37):
Was that at all inspired by I mean, your
wife performs on Broadway,right?
So are you also a Broadway fan,or was that something that you
fell in love with through yourwife?
John Pizzarelli (24:48):
Well, the funny thing about Stage and Screen is
that when the pandemic hit, Ihad to do, I mean, we had we had
literally we were cut off fromuh making a living.
And so we were in this cabinand we were sort of looking at
each other, going, what are wegonna do now?
And so um I was able now,because of all this, uh, to do
(25:14):
these live Facebook shows.
And I would say at thebeginning of the week, I still
do them actually.
It's been five years, and I atthe beginning of the week, I'll
post on Facebook.
I'm gonna do my show on myFacebook page, uh, leave your
requests.
And I would start to gatherrequests and a lot of the songs
from stage and screen because ofJessica's obviously her stage
(25:37):
experience and uh me liking uhsongs and then looking at all
these requests and going, thisone time after time comes up a
lot.
As time goes by comes up a lot.
Uh and I started to puttogether songs that um and I
realized the theme was stage andscreen.
And I I uh I needed to make arecord when I was gonna go back
(25:59):
out on the road, and that's howthis theme arrived.
And it made it for uh it madeit easy for us.
It worked out where very well.
And Jessica, of course, uh uhone of her friends, Jason Robert
Brown, wrote the second song,uh I Love Betsy on the record.
So we we did get some of ourfriends' uh music involved in it
too.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (26:20):
I love it.
I had to bring it up as a fanof stage and screen myself.
I just needed to ask aboutthat.
John Pizzarelli (26:25):
You can ask anything you want.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (26:27):
Thank you, thank you.
Um, I think those actuallymight have been all of my
questions, but is there anythingthat I didn't ask that we
should be promoting?
John Pizzarelli (26:36):
No, I think they're all in there.
I mean, we I've I've promotedthe radio show, which airs uh
Mondays, Tuesdays, andWednesdays 8 to 12 on WBGO.
That's uh Jessica and I, ourshow called Radio Deluxe.
Stage and Screen's been out fora while.
Next year we have an albumcalled Dear Mr.
Bennett, which uh celebrates uhthe music of Tony Bennett.
So that'll be out in thebeginning of the year, uh in the
(26:59):
beginning of March.
Uh we were gonna be at theCarlisle, Jessica and I, for two
weeks in November.
And I'm always excited to playin New Jersey.
So that's a that's a it's a bigdeal.
I'm glad you took the time tohelp me promote it.
I'm looking forward to uh uhit's always fun to go down the
parkway and play a gig, uh playsome gigs, so it'll be fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (27:21):
Now that you've had some insight into my
teenage crushes, you mightunderstand why this was such an
exciting interview for me.
Pizzerelli will perform onOctober 17th at 7 p.m.
in Summers Point.
But the full festival runsOctober 16th through the 18th,
featuring a number of wonderfulperformers.
For tickets and moreinformation about the festival,
be sure to visit southjerseyjazz.org slash events.
(27:45):
If you'd like to learn moreabout John Pizzarelli, you can
visit johnpizzarelli.com.
If you liked this episode, besure to review, subscribe, and
tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,links relevant to the story, and
more about the arts in NewJersey can be found at
JerseyArts.com.
The JerseyArts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
(28:07):
The show was co-founded by andcurrently supported by funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,edited, and produced by me, Gina
Marie Rodriguez.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez.
And my thanks, of course, toJohn Pizzarelli for speaking
with me today.
I'm Gina Marie Rodriguez forthe Jersey Arts Podcast.
(28:27):
Thanks for listening.
This is Gina Marie Rodriguez, and you're
listening to the Jersey Artspodcast.
I have to say, I love talkingto fellow radio hosts.
Oh wait, I'm a podcast host.
Are the two comparable?
Alright, well while I have acrisis of identity, I'll let you
guys decide.
But my point is, radio hoststend to know how to gab with the
(00:25):
best of them.
And John Pizzarelli is noexception.
Today's guest is the charmingand personable host of Radio
Deluxe with John Pizzarelli.
But that's not all he's knownfor.
Borrowing from his website'sbiography, I can say that he is
a guitarist and singer who hasbeen hailed by the Boston Globe
for reinvigorating the GreatAmerican Songbook and
repopularizing jazz.
(00:45):
He's been established as one ofthe prime contemporary
interpreters of the GreatAmerican Songbook, and has even
expanded that repertoire byincluding the music of Paul
McCartney, Joni Mitchell, NeilYoung, Tom Waits, Antonio Carlos
Javim, and the Beatles.
In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer,
Pizzarelli has been a specialguest on recordings for major
(01:06):
pop names such as Natalie Cole,Kristen Chenowitz, Tom Wopat,
Ricky Lee Jones, and Dave VanRonck.
As well as leading jazz artistssuch as Rosemary Clooney, Ruby
Braff, Johnny Frigo, BuddyDeFranco, Harry Allen, and of
course, his father, BuckyPizzarelli.
He won a Grammy Award in thebest traditional pop vocal album
category as co-producer ofJames Taylor's American Standard
(01:29):
in 2021.
He's also performed onAmerica's most popular national
television shows such as TheTonight Show, starring Jimmy
Fallon, Conan, and greatperformances, as well as the
talk shows of Jay Leno, DavidLetterman, Regis Bilbin, and the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And my favorite fun fact, andperhaps the wonder of it all, is
that he was the singer in thepopular Foxwoods casino
(01:51):
commercials for just under adecade.
And this October, he will beone of the featured headliners
at the Jazz at the PointFestival, hosted by the South
Jersey Jazz Society.
Stay tuned to drop in on one ofmy most relaxed conversations
with the delightful JohnPizzarelli.
So first, I was just talking touh Skye about this, though the
(02:12):
weather is absolutely insanehere.
But you're in Florida, so I'mhoping that it's nicer there for
you.
John Pizzarelli (02:17):
No, yeah, I'm I'm playing down here in
Orlando.
So uh it's uh hot and humid andugly, but I know it's raining
up north, but I'm coming hometomorrow, so uh I'm actually
looking forward to the rain, anduh it's a nice time of year
when you can put a sweater on.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:34):
I mean, I guess a lot of people do enjoy
the fall.
I like the summer, and I feellike Jersey just hasn't had
enough summer lately.
Like there's so many grayskies, and I'm missing it.
John Pizzarelli (02:44):
Yeah, and it you know, I remember as a kid
the the there weren't enoughshore days in the uh summer.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:51):
Yeah, absolutely.
Were you sorry, that was thatcame out wrong.
Do you live in New York now orNew Jersey?
John Pizzarelli (02:59):
I live in New York.
I I've been in the city for 30years.
My parents, though, uh were inuh Saddle River for all well for
most of their married life, andthat my mother was uh from
Waldwick and my father fromPatterson.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:13):
I love it.
Jersey families.
John Pizzarelli (03:16):
Yes, and uh, you know, I I have fond memories
of uh of growing up in NewJersey.
It was it was it was quite awonderful time in the in the 70s
and 80s to be around there.
It was just there were a lot ofgreat places to work.
I met a lot of great people whoare still friends of mine
today.
And I went to a day camp and uhcalled Knights Day Camp in
(03:36):
Upper Saddle River that is uhclosed uh 40 years ago, and uh I
still remember it like it wasyesterday.
I had so much fun there.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:46):
Oh my gosh, that's awesome! I was
gonna ask you, did you have afavorite place to play?
But I meant music, although thesummer camp is awesome.
John Pizzarelli (03:54):
Summer camp was great.
Uh I used to play at a placecalled Nobody's Inn in Mawa, New
Jersey.
I did Tuesdays and Sundaysthere uh for uh oh at least 20
years.
And it was like a it was likehome base, and it was there, it
was there was a familial aspectto it because I just knew
everybody who worked there, anduh I worked there with um my
(04:16):
rock band sometimes on theweekends, and then I did my solo
act there, well, solo act whereI would just play standards.
I did Sunday night dinners sixto nine.
I did Tuesdays like nine toone, and then I played a place
in um I a dear friend of minenamed Grover Kemble, who was a
sort of a New Jersey fixture.
Uh, we worked together in NewBrunswick at a place called
(04:38):
Ryan's and uh R-H-Y-A-N-S.
And we play in the window.
It was on George Street, andyou'd play in the window, and
and there'd be a bunch of peopleand a bar along the side.
I think Jim Gandalfini mighthave been a bartender when I was
there.
And uh uh you looked up, andthen there was a staircase, and
(05:01):
then there was even an upstairspeople would look down at you,
and uh, we had a lot of funthere.
Grover and I would do onenight, then my band would do one
night, and Grover's band didone night.
We uh we sort of owned thatplace for a while, so there were
a lot of it was a there was areally fun new uh music scene.
And as I look at my friends uhwere out there, there's still
places where there's live music,and it's really sort of fun to
(05:23):
see bands still out thereplaying Alman Brothers.
Gina Marie Rodrigue (05:27):
Absolutely.
It's so funny that you bring upNew Brunswick because I'm I'm a
Ruckers girl, so of course Iknow George Street, but I've
never heard James Gandalfinireferred to as Jim Gandalfini,
so that just gave me some somejoy right there.
John Pizzarelli (05:41):
Yeah, it was funny because there was and
there was a famous actor uh uhnamed Roger Bart who uh also uh
worked at the bar.
And so I think it was one ofthose things where we didn't
realize we were we were allworking in the same place.
And I know Mario Batali workedat stuff your face around the
corner, and uh it was a wildtime.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:03):
I did not know that, so I'm learning a lot
today.
I did know that Roger Bart andJames Gandalvini had both gone
to Mason Gross.
I didn't realize that they mayhave been contemporaries, I
guess.
John Pizzarelli (06:13):
Yeah, they may they may have worked together.
I know Roger, Roger did uhTommy with my wife on Broadway
uh in the early 90s, and uhthey're they're quite good
friends still to this day.
So uh that's how we I was like,wait, wait a second, you worked
at Ryan's while I was atRyan's, you know, one of those
kind of things.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:30):
Yeah, that's so cool.
I love that.
I love when like it's sixdegrees of separation, etc.
Yeah, it's crazy, yeah.
John Pizzarelli (06:36):
And and the people who still say, Oh, I was
at Ryan's when you were there,and they remember the nutty
things that we did, and and uhthe nobody's in people still
find me out in the world andsay, you know, I was there every
Tuesday night, and it wasreally uh fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:50):
I love that.
I love that.
John Pizzarelli (06:52):
I I actually I even found the other day uh I I
played the last night that itwas nobody's in, or the last
week.
I did I went back and did aTuesday night, and Les Paul came
in and sat right in front ofme.
He came from his house in Mawa,and I found the pictures a
picture of Les Paul looking upat me while I'm playing.
So that was uh uh you knowcrazy.
(07:12):
That kind of stuff happened allthe time.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:15):
Wow, that is amazing.
Did you say you just found thatphoto?
John Pizzarelli (07:19):
Uh yeah, I found the photo.
I had it in yeah, it was one ofthose things where you know I'm
old, so I was like looking in afile and I was like, Oh, I had
nothing to do.
I was on a gig and you know, Ihad the whole day off, and I was
just going through my photos,and I was like, Oh, there's the
Les Paul photo is crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:34):
That's so cool.
I love I love those stories.
I wanted to ask you because youyou mentioned it very briefly,
that you had been in a rock bandwhen you were younger
initially, but I think I hadheard you say in in previous
interviews that it was Nat KingCole that kind of turned you
back to jazz.
So do you mind if I ask you howyou feel about Nat today?
John Pizzarelli (07:54):
Oh, yeah.
Well, that was the thing isthat um uh I started working uh
with a buddy of mine.
Uh we went to Don Boscotogether, and he lived in Mawa,
and I lived in Saddle River.
And then when I came back fromcollege, I did three semesters
in Tampa, the University ofTampa, because they accepted me.
(08:16):
And I came home and we went toWilliam Patterson and we met on
the campus together.
And he said, Hey, uh, I got agig for us on uh uh Monday
nights in a little Italianrestaurant in Tapan, New York,
and we would play standards, andthat's where I started to learn
a lot of standards, and Ilearned a lot of standards
working with my father.
But it was this guy's sisterwho introduced me to a record by
(08:40):
a guy from uh Clifton orMontclair.
His name was Frank Weber, andhe made a record of Straighten
Up and Fly Right, and which wasa big Nat Cole hit.
And so I learned it.
The long the long story short,I learned that song and then got
all the Nat Cole records werere-released right at that time,
(09:00):
the trio records, and that waslife-changing because I didn't
know any songs that weren't uhyou know connected to Sinatra or
Tony Bennett or uh singers thatI couldn't emulate in a sense.
Uh, but the Nat Cole thing hadjazz and it had a sense of humor
(09:21):
and it and um and vocally forme it was an easy place to start
singing Route 66 and all that.
So uh my father would joke, hesaid, You're the only guy who
plays jazz uh to support hisrock and roll habit because I I
would make money with my fatherworking all these great gigs and
then still sneak out on, well,not sneak out, but I I had a
(09:43):
little rock band that I lovedplaying in, and I'd go to you
know, nobody's in, and I I hadthis idea that maybe I was gonna
be a singer-songwriter likeJames Taylor or Jackson Brown or
somebody like that.
So that's where all the NewJersey club dates were those
kind of things.
And then my father'd say, Youwant to make some money?
I'll take you to a real gig.
And you know, I'd and then Istarted to actually make records
(10:07):
singing Nat Cole songs.
I actually made a couple ofalbums when uh in 83, 85, and
87.
And uh, so I was cultivatingthis uh jazz career.
I just sort of fell into it,you know, it was crazy.
And then I when I when Irealized I was I was living by
myself in a in a little guarddepartment in Ramsey, that I was
(10:28):
like, I guess I'm making aliving doing this, you know, it
was crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (10:31):
Speaking of your dad, I mean, he himself
was a renowned jazz guitarist,but I'm I'm wondering if you you
ventured into rock because youdidn't want to be like your dad
at first, or maybe you weretrying to do something on your
own.
I don't know.
I guess I'm wondering like ifyou felt that you needed to
follow in his footstepseventually.
John Pizzarelli (10:50):
No, you know, I just loved the Beatles when I
was a kid.
Uh my sisters had all theBeatles records, and we would
listen to them, and we likedwatching the movies, help and
Hard Days Night, and thought,wow, this is really cool.
And that was a way, and mybuddy, uh, who I went to grammar
school with in high school, hisname was Steve Lafayoska, and
he was he was like, he likedplaying the guitar, but he
(11:12):
didn't have any equipment.
And he was like, Well, you gotamps and guitars in your house.
Let's start a band.
You got all the stuff.
You know, my father had theamps and the guitars, and uh, it
was just a way to play dancesand make a little money.
And and there wasn't, and myfather was always like, he loved
the fact that we were working,you know, that we were get had a
band and all, you know, it wastoo loud for him, and he maybe
(11:34):
didn't get some of the music,but he was always like, Oh,
how'd your gig go?
Oh, your gig was good, oh,that's great, you know, and and
it was just, I mean, honestly,it was sort of sheer luck that I
I ended up in the familybusiness, quote unquote, playing
jazz.
And uh uh, and my father wasalways just like, Well, if
you're you're making a livingplaying music was a good thing.
(11:55):
So he would never said, youknow, do this.
We were always out theretrying, and whatever was stuck
to the wall, we went in thatdirection, you know.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (12:05):
Well, I I mean, obviously it worked out
well for you, so that's good.
John Pizzarelli (12:08):
I was I was very pleased with the way it
turned out.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (12:12):
Uh, you know, I guess I'll ask you since
we're we're on that train ofthought, I ask this of every
professional musician that Ispeak to.
What is your advice for youngaspiring artists who want to go
pro?
John Pizzarelli (12:25):
That's a very good question.
You know, as a matter of fact,I'm playing down here.
I have I've had a number of uhyoung piano players now over the
past uh 10 years, who havebeen, you know, literally just
out of college.
And you know, my feeling to mysaying to them was I I've never
(12:47):
been one to like say, you gottado it this way or you gotta do
it that way.
I mean, I was always like, forme, learn the songs, uh, have a
repertoire so that you know, ifI say, Do you know that song?
You say, Yeah, I know thatsong.
I learned all these songs.
I learned a lot of them when Iwas with my father and on
bandstands with hiscontemporaries.
And so, you know, find a placewhere you can where you can uh
(13:11):
work on that part of it.
Because I think that was a bigthing that I did too, was I sat
in these little clubs in NewJersey, and sometimes uh more
often than not, people didn'tlisten.
But I you always knew there wasone listener.
I realized that too.
That was one of those thingswhen you thought, eh, I'm gonna
relax, I'm gonna have a beerbefore I go back for the next
set, and then I'd be on the nextset, and I'd there'd be
(13:34):
someone, and you'd go, Oh, Ishouldn't have had that beer.
I shouldn't be really thinkingabout doing this.
And it was all those littlelessons that I learned from
playing those gigs.
And I think those kinds ofgigs, no matter what they pay,
are instrumental in helping youget uh to somewhere, to a goal.
You know, it might not just beum uh my group right off the
(13:58):
bat, which is a successful band,but it might just be, you know,
you just you make your way towhen the when the phone rings
and it's that somebody, youknow, that's the thing that's
happened to me in in these past15 years.
You know, James Taylor calls meon the phone and you're like,
oh, I can do that, sure.
You know, I mean, those are thethings you worked and practiced
(14:20):
for is when Paul McCartneycalls up and says, We want you
to play rhythm guitar on thisrecord, and you're like, Yeah, I
can do that.
You know, I've I got to workwith uh Michael McDonald at the
Carlisle Hotel, and that was abig deal, you know.
And then I was like, I can dothat, and I I can show him what
I can do, so make the gig easierfor him.
And all those hours spent inall those clubs running around
(14:44):
George Street and and FranklinTurnpike were were uh
instrumental in making uh youknow and guiding the way that to
what I wanted to do.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (14:55):
So have a repertoire, be ready.
I think that's excellent.
John Pizzarelli (14:59):
Yeah, I don't know.
I I don't know if I answeredthe question, but that's the
thing.
Yeah, practice.
You did make sure you're ready.
So when somebody calls you forthe gig, you're ready to you you
have the you have a repertoire,or if there's somebody you want
to work with, make sure you'rereally familiar with their
material.
I know there's the PatMathaney's story was he loved
Gary Burton's and he learned allof Gary Burton's songs and
(15:19):
said, I want to sit in.
And they said, Well, you know,we do all original music.
And I well, I know all themusic.
And and he got in the band, youknow, and those kinds of things
uh I look for in a piano playerwhen, you know, or a bass
player, it's like, yeah, I know,I know your stuff.
Let's go.
And that's you know, that's abig part of of getting out there
and and uh the first part ofyou know the professional
(15:43):
relationship you hope to have inyour career.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (15:46):
Well, you were certainly ready when Paul
McCartney called you.
So I I need to ask you, as afan of the Beatles growing up,
what what did that mean to youwhen Paul McCartney wants to
work with you?
John Pizzarelli (15:57):
Oh, that was that was crazy.
I mean, uh I was very luckybecause I had established myself
uh as a uh you know a rhythmguitar player or a jazz
guitarist, the type that theywanted for that record.
So when Tommy La Puma, the theproducer of that record, who had
done breezing with GeorgeBenson and he did all the Diana
(16:17):
Karall records, he did MichaelFranks, all these great records.
And when he called me, said, Ineed you to do this, I was like,
Yeah, I can do that.
And um it was quite wonderful.
I mean, to to be in the roomwith this guy who, when I was
six, I was holding a cardboardguitar in front of the uh
turntable, faking, you know,can't buy me love.
(16:38):
And uh to sit in a room withhim and watch him work was quite
wonderful, magical, you know,just and go, oh, I know why this
guy's so famous, because heknows what he wants and he knows
how to do it.
And uh and he was and the bestpart was he was uh just
genuinely terrific person, whichI was so like so happy to be
(17:01):
able to say that.
I suppose, like, I really can'ttalk about Paul McCartney, you
know.
He was just great, and I gotyou know, got to meet a lot of
people on that date too, JoeWalsh and uh just to be around
this whole amazing group ofpeople uh making music.
That was you know, that was aroom I was really fortunate to
(17:21):
be in.
And the same thing with Taylorwhen he called up and said, I
want to do two guitars and dostandard songs, and I need you
to help me do that.
I was like, Well, I spent a lotof time learning your songs, so
let's go do this, you know.
And it was just uh it's uh itwas very it's amazing what where
the guitar has brung me.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (17:41):
Speaking of being a fan of someone and
eventually getting to work withthem, can I tell you a
ridiculous story and hopefullyit won't make you too
uncomfortable?
No, don't so when I was growingup, you were the Foxwoods guy.
I may have been in love withyou for as like a 12-year-old,
and I really wanted to go toFoxwoods.
(18:03):
My mother was like, Gina,you're not going to a casino.
You don't need to be at acasino.
And then I was like, But mom,he told me to meet him at
Foxwoods.
John Pizzarelli (18:13):
He's like, he was not talking to you.
No, that's very sweet becauseit was uh that was another thing
that just fell in my lap.
I went to uh do the session,and uh Hansibia had written this
great arrangement.
He said, No, you gotta sing it.
I was like, When I gotta singthis thing, yeah, just sing it.
And the the director of thecommercial was there and said,
(18:35):
You should be in thiscommercial.
And I was like, Yeah, I shouldbe in this commercial.
I didn't even think it wasanything.
And literally by the end of theday, there were the plans to
shoot the commercial, and it wasuh it was quite a uh remarkable
thing, ran for about seven oreight years.
Everybody saw it and uh it wasvery good to me.
So that's uh I'm I'm fine withthat.
(18:55):
Thank you very much.
Very soon.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (18:58):
Of course.
I'm glad I didn't make it tooawkward.
We'll move on from that,though.
I've totally moved on, it'sokay.
Um, all right, let's let'sactually talk about where you're
gonna be in Jersey.
You're gonna be a featuredheadliner at the Jersey Fresh
Jazz at the Point Festival.
So we were talking about youryou know previous experiences in
New Jersey.
So is there anything you'relooking forward to with this
(19:18):
upcoming performance?
John Pizzarelli (19:20):
I always like the drive down the parkway.
It's one of my favorite things.
Making my way doing that uh isis uh it brings back a lot of
memories for me to get to godown that way.
And uh uh I get I I getstupidly nostalgic for the signs
and all the and the the stopsand the things, and and the guys
(19:43):
in the group, if I bringanybody with me, if you know
sometimes we'll share, you know,I'll drive and piano player
will come with me, Isaiah or uhor the guys together.
And uh I just say, Well, youknow, that exit, and then you
know, I used to go and then overthere was another thing, and
then down that place.
And uh even my wife sort of fedup with it now.
(20:04):
You know, when I when we drive,if I go on Route 17 or Route 4,
and I just start to and shegoes, I understand this has to
happen every time we do this.
And I just say, Well, that'swhere I bought the Nat Cole
record.
It was a Sam Goodies in there,you know, or the down the
parkway, and you you know whereexit 98 was took us to
Jenkinson's at Point Pleasant,and that was a big deal, you
(20:26):
know.
So I I am uh, you know, I Ilive in New York, but New
Jersey's in my blood.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (20:33):
I love that, and I love the nostalgia.
For me, I I suffer from highwayhypnosis, so I could never say
that I enjoy driving down theparkway because there have been
times where I have almost fallenasleep, and that's very bad.
For anybody listening, don't dothat.
John Pizzarelli (20:46):
You know, it's funny.
I used to do that.
Um, I when I I would work atnight's day camp that one
summer, 84 and 85, and uh, youknow, I'd work from nine to four
and go home and shower, andthen uh, you know, I'd had to
get in the car at six.
It was always seemed like itwas a longer drive, but I
remember going those kinds ofthings and driving home at
(21:07):
night.
And sometimes I'd pull off atMadison Hill.
So I would stop the car andjust I'd fall asleep for a
second.
It was it was amazing, and nowI'm I'm so happy to be on the
road, and you know, I'm like uhand uh it's much more exciting.
I don't know why it keeps meawake now, but uh when it was
younger and I was falling, Iwould be drowsy in a lot of
(21:28):
those little areas, but it is uhit's just a fun ride for me
now.
I just sort of I love the Ijust there's the the highlights
of the signs and certain exitsthat lead to stories that drive
everyone crazy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (21:41):
Well, I'm glad it's fun for you now
because it's also much saferthat way.
Yes, behind the wheel.
Um, you mentioned before thatyour your wife is also a
performer, and I mean, obviouslyyou've kind of surrounded
yourself by family who is uh inthe musical industry.
And I'm just as someone whodoesn't really have that niche
within my family who's in thearts, I'm wondering what's that
(22:04):
like?
Like you just get to go homeand enjoy your career at home as
well.
I I didn't phrase thatcorrectly, but do you know what
I'm trying to get at?
John Pizzarelli (22:13):
I I totally know what you mean.
And I I mean it was um therewere certain things about
working with Bucky.
Well, I call him Bucky, my dad,that uh, you know, we were we
sort of my father used to alwayssay, You can't beat blood.
He was always, you know, it'slike when we and we would we
were sort of mean about it too.
We'd get in the car and we'dgo, Yeah, we know what we're
(22:34):
doing tonight, you know, let'sgo get him, you know.
And we were always uh we hadspent so many times, so many
hours in clubs where we wouldplay for four hours or here, or
we'd play a three-hour gigthere.
And so then when we had to playa concert somewhere, we had an
easy hour of material, and thatkind of thing was always got us
(22:55):
energized, you know.
And when Jessica and I like wewere just sitting together a
couple of weeks ago at our thewhat we call the cabin that
Foxwood's uh built, uh, and wewere just talking about stuff,
and we came, you know, and andjust through this little
conversation, as we're now on inuh our radio show's on in
Newark.
Uh Radio Deluxe is on WBGO onMondays, Tuesdays, and
(23:19):
Wednesdays, uh radio show we'vehad forever for 20 years.
And the you know, just sittingtogether and talking about what
we're gonna do for a gig at theCarlisle, and all of a sudden
we're like, oh, there's thetheme and here's the thing.
And we uh and we have the samekind of relationship that way.
It's like, I think we can dothis, this, yeah.
And we have a great uh it'sit's it's a wonderful way to uh
(23:42):
to be to have that in thein-house kind of sensibility.
Even if it's I'm just going todo something and I'll say, What
do you think I should do?
We were looking at recordcovers this morning, and well,
maybe try this.
That looks good.
You know, you have somebody tobounce it off of who has um a
little has a similar idea towhat uh you're thinking, you
(24:03):
know, and we've we've had thatfor almost 30 years, so it's
pretty good.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (24:08):
That really is the coolest thing I've
ever heard.
And I I always talk to thesecouples who work in the same
industry together, and I envyyou a little bit, a little bit.
But who knows?
Maybe maybe one day I'll meetsomeone who also works in the
arts.
Uh who knows?
That's it.
That said, I did want to askbefore we end, sure.
(24:29):
Stage and screen um was is thatyour latest album?
John Pizzarelli (24:34):
Yeah, that's the one that's out right now.
Yeah.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (24:37):
Was that at all inspired by I mean, your
wife performs on Broadway,right?
So are you also a Broadway fan,or was that something that you
fell in love with through yourwife?
John Pizzarelli (24:48):
Well, the funny thing about Stage and Screen is
that when the pandemic hit, Ihad to do, I mean, we had we had
literally we were cut off fromuh making a living.
And so we were in this cabinand we were sort of looking at
each other, going, what are wegonna do now?
And so um I was able now,because of all this, uh, to do
(25:14):
these live Facebook shows.
And I would say at thebeginning of the week, I still
do them actually.
It's been five years, and I atthe beginning of the week, I'll
post on Facebook.
I'm gonna do my show on myFacebook page, uh, leave your
requests.
And I would start to gatherrequests and a lot of the songs
from stage and screen because ofJessica's obviously her stage
(25:37):
experience and uh me liking uhsongs and then looking at all
these requests and going, thisone time after time comes up a
lot.
As time goes by comes up a lot.
Uh and I started to puttogether songs that um and I
realized the theme was stage andscreen.
And I I uh I needed to make arecord when I was gonna go back
(25:59):
out on the road, and that's howthis theme arrived.
And it made it for uh it madeit easy for us.
It worked out where very well.
And Jessica, of course, uh uhone of her friends, Jason Robert
Brown, wrote the second song,uh I Love Betsy on the record.
So we we did get some of ourfriends' uh music involved in it
too.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (26:20):
I love it.
I had to bring it up as a fanof stage and screen myself.
I just needed to ask aboutthat.
John Pizzarelli (26:25):
You can ask anything you want.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (26:27):
Thank you, thank you.
Um, I think those actuallymight have been all of my
questions, but is there anythingthat I didn't ask that we
should be promoting?
John Pizzarelli (26:36):
No, I think they're all in there.
I mean, we I've I've promotedthe radio show, which airs uh
Mondays, Tuesdays, andWednesdays 8 to 12 on WBGO.
That's uh Jessica and I, ourshow called Radio Deluxe.
Stage and Screen's been out fora while.
Next year we have an albumcalled Dear Mr.
Bennett, which uh celebrates uhthe music of Tony Bennett.
So that'll be out in thebeginning of the year, uh in the
(26:59):
beginning of March.
Uh we were gonna be at theCarlisle, Jessica and I, for two
weeks in November.
And I'm always excited to playin New Jersey.
So that's a that's a it's a bigdeal.
I'm glad you took the time tohelp me promote it.
I'm looking forward to uh uhit's always fun to go down the
parkway and play a gig, uh playsome gigs, so it'll be fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (27:21):
Now that you've had some insight into my
teenage crushes, you mightunderstand why this was such an
exciting interview for me.
Pizzerelli will perform onOctober 17th at 7 p.m.
in Summers Point.
But the full festival runsOctober 16th through the 18th,
featuring a number of wonderfulperformers.
For tickets and moreinformation about the festival,
be sure to visit southjerseyjazz.org slash events.
(27:45):
If you'd like to learn moreabout John Pizzarelli, you can
visit johnpizzarelli.com.
If you liked this episode, besure to review, subscribe, and
tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,links relevant to the story, and
more about the arts in NewJersey can be found at
JerseyArts.com.
The JerseyArts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
(28:07):
The show was co-founded by andcurrently supported by funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,edited, and produced by me, Gina
Marie Rodriguez.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez.
And my thanks, of course, toJohn Pizzarelli for speaking
with me today.
I'm Gina Marie Rodriguez forthe Jersey Arts Podcast.
(28:27):
Thanks for listening.
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