John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland

John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland
Live album by John Pizzarelli
Released 2015 (2015)
Recorded 2014 (2014)
Venue Birdland, New York
Genre Jazz
Label Vector Records
John Pizzarelli chronology
Double Exposure
(2012)		 John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland
(2015)		 Midnight McCartney
(2015)

John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland is a tribute album by John Pizzarelli to the American songwriter Johnny Mercer. It was recorded live at the Birdland jazz club in New York in 2014,[1] and released in 2015 under his Vector Records label.[2]

The album was recorded as a medley,[3] interspersed with commentary by Pizzarelli.[4]

Background

Pizzarelli had performed Johnny Mercer tunes on previous albums, and as a cast member of the 1997 Broadway musical Dream.[5] Pizzarelli explained the album dedicated to Mercer was significant given Mercer was "responsible for so many great things in [his] life."[6]

Reception

Christopher Loudon reviewed in the JazzTimes that "Johnny Mercer was tremendously prolific as a songwriter. Still, Pizzarelli manages to squeeze a remarkably panoptic homage into 65 minutes, covering 26 Mercer tunes, familiar and obscure, from all stages of his career." He commented Pizzarelli "remains the Dorian Gray of jazz, his sound and sensibility preternaturally boyish, joyously championing an art he was, quite literally, born into."[1]

For VintageGuitar magazine, Rich Kienzle noted "[o]n “I Got Out Of Bed On The Right Side” and “Goody Goody,” Pizzarelli offers the usual Bensonesque scat-guitar solos. “Dearly Beloved” features a crisp, single-string break. He comps as flawlessly as his dad, Bucky, on “Accentuate The Positive,” “Skylark,” and “Too Marvelous For Words.” … Lesser-known gems like the swing-era “Jamboree Jones” and “Slue Foot” also get their due. While “Something’s Gotta Give” features driving single-string work, his solo on “Emily” is a model of brevity and eloquence. "[3]

Track listing

All tracks written by Johnny Mercer.

No.TitleLength
1."I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side"3:50
2."Intro Dearly Beloved" (commentary)0:28
3."Dearly Beloved"4:22
4."Goody Goody"4:03
5."You Medly"7:22
6."Skylark"3:53
7."Intro I'm Old Fashioned" (commentary)0:26
8."I'm Old Fashioned"2:31
9."Jamboree Jones"3:14
10."Emily"3:11
11."Accentuate the Positive"5:12
12."Academy Award Medly"3:47
13."Slue Foot"3:11
14."Intro October Medly" (commentary)0:31
15."October Medly"5:33
16."Intro Something's Gotta Give" (commentary)0:21
17."Something's Gotta Give"4:09
18."Empty Tables"2:56
19."Too Marvelous for Words"3:46
20."And So To Bed"2:03

Personnel

Musicians

  • John Pizzarelli – guitar, vocals
  • Budd Burridge – baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Ken Hitchcock – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute
  • John Mosca – tromobone
  • Konrad Paszkudzki – piano
  • Martin Pizzarelli – bass
  • Kevin Kanner – drums

Support

  • Chris Byars – arrangement ("You Medly")
  • Dick Lieb – arrangement ("Jamboree Jones")
  • Don Sebesky – arrangement (all other tracks)[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Loudon, Christopher (2015-05-30). "John Pizzarelli: Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  2. ↑ "John Pizzarelli Official Website – MUSIC". Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  3. 1 2 Kienzle, Rich. "John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer (Live)". Vintage Guitar. No. 2015–07.
  4. 1 2 John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland (CD liner notes). John Pizzarelli. United States: Vector Records. 2015. Barcode 859713989573.
  5. ↑ Kienzle, Rich. "'John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer' Reviewed: PG Music Podcast". Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  6. ↑ Lustig, Jay (2015-02-04). "John Pizzarelli salutes Johnny Mercer on album and on TV". Retrieved 2018-09-08.
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