Had a great Pizzarelli weekend, seeing John Pizzarelli and the Swing Seven at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston on a Sunday afternoon. It was great hearing nearly all the tunes from Pizzarelli's new CD, "Rockin’ in Rhythm" live so soon after its release.
The opening act for the show was accordionist Cory Pesaturo with his trio. He was very good, blending jazz performances on tunes such as "Jumping With Symphony Sid", "Take Five" and "But Not For Me" with an energetic tango and a nice rendition of "Besame Mucho".
After a brief intermission, John Pizzarelli and the Swing Seven took to the stage and proceeded to amaze the audience with a collection of music marked by stupendous arrangements, top notch musicianship and just plain fun. The group performed a few introductory tunes prior to the Ellington tribute to whet the audience’s appetite. These included "With a Song In My Heart" and "I Like to Recognize the Tune". As well, the audience was treated to new Swing Seven renditions of "These Foolish Things" and "They Can’t Take That Away From Me". The latter featured a very interesting arrangement. After an initial piano solo by Larry Fuller, the rhythm section stopped and the four horns played an unaccompanied, extended solo using trombone, flugelhorn, clarinet and bass clarinet. It provided a very interesting harmonized sound and was followed by John playing solo guitar. The horns and John then traded solo sections before the rhythm section of Fuller, bassist Martin Pizzarelli and drummer Tony Tedesco joined back in to close out the song.
After this opening section, the group launched into the Ellington tribute, performing nearly all the songs from the new CD. Some highlights included Pizzarelli performing all the vocal parts on the vocalese rendition of "Perdido", the performance of "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore" with that haunting counter melody of "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" played by the horns, and Pizzarelli's poignant vocals on "In My Solitude".
On the up-tempo tunes, such as "In a Mellow Tone" and "I’m Beginning to See the Light", the group really rocked. With Fuller, Martin Pizzarelli and Tedesco driving the rhythm along, and the horns behind John’s vocals adding to the energy of the performance, you could see many members of the audience moving with the rhythm, looking like they wanted to jump up from their seats.
The finale of "C Jam Blues" got everyone into the act with Pizzarelli, Fuller and all four horns getting extended solos. Even Cory Pesaturo stepped in to add an accordion solo. I was particularly impressed with Kenny Berger’s blistering baritone sax solo but everyone was really at the top of their game during the tune.
"C Jam Blues" was a fitting close to the shows. I don’t think there is a better way to spend a weekend than with a liberal dose of John Pizzarelli and the Swing Seven. If you are anywhere near an upcoming Pizzarelli concert, make sure you run to get your tickets. I can’t recommend the show highly enough
