Jazz guitar great, Bucky Pizzarelli, performed at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River, NJ on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 8pm. The concert featured Pizzarelli on 7-string guitar, Ed Laub on 7-string guitar, and Bucky’s son, Martin Pizzarelli, on stand-up bass.
Pizzarelli last performed at The Grunin Center in October, 2015, but he suffered a serious stroke shortly thereafter. He had been scheduled to return to the venue in January, 2016 to accompany his other son, jazz guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli, in concert, but Bucky was still in the hospital. There were many who thought he would never play again.
His long-time musical colleague, Ed Laub, said at the time that Bucky had become “completely debilitated and atrophied from staying in bed for eight weeks. I would never have believed he would ever come out of the hospital.”
But Ed also knew that music would be Bucky’s road to recovery. “He was so weak and sick,” recalls Ed, “but it was really amazing to watch, as I’d come to visit… put a guitar in his hand, and he’d play a little bit.”
In the spring, Pizzarelli came home from the hospital and after some in-home rehabilitation, he and Laub began a comeback tour with performances at venues including New Jersey’s Ramapo College and New York City’s Birdland.
Pizzarelli’s been performing since 1944, having accompanied everyone from Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles to Benny Goodman to Les Paul. Amazingly, this jazz legend is still touring and playing music at the age of 90!
At NJ’s Grunin Center, Pizzarelli and his trio lead off this evening of jazz with a lively rendition of the standard, “Tangerine,” and follow that with a sensitive version of Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns.” Despite suffering the stroke, Pizzarelli shows complete command of his instrument — his soloing as clean and inventive as ever, his tone expressive, and his rhythm impeccable.
After the two instrumental pieces, the group changes things up by performing “Don’t Be That Way,” a snappy Sinatra tune featuring jazz vocals by guitarist Ed Laub.
Next up is an Eddie Jefferson ditty about a baby named Benny, a parody on “Pennies from Heaven.” Entitled “Benny’s From Heaven,” the song is about a soldier who returns home after three years to discover his wife has had a baby whom she claims “was from heaven,” the soldier going on to acknowledge, “Benny’s got to be from heaven, ‘cuz he damn sure ain’t from me!”
Following up with some expressive guitar playing by Bucky on two Richard Rogers songs — “It’s Easy to Remember (and so Hard to Forget)” and “This Nearly Was Mine” from South Pacific — Laub solos beautifully on the Billie Holiday tune, “More Than You Know.”
Ed Laub goes on to talk about how, growing up, Bucky was his guitar teacher and mentor. As a 16-year-old, Ed started studying guitar with Pizzarelli after first taking lessons from Bobby Domenic, Bucky’s uncle, who also happens to have been Pizzarelli’s first teacher. According to Ed, he and Bucky have been together now for 47 years.
“So what’s next?,” inquires Bucky.
Ed introduces “three environmentally-related songs — one about cold weather, one about the beach, and one about rain.”
The first is “Snowfall,” a lovely song — ala Sinatra’s “Witchcraft” — in which the cascading chords remind the listener of falling snow. Throughout the tune, Bucky and Ed trade solos. As they play, both master and student can be observed tapping their toes in unison to the beat.
Next comes “Wave,” the Antonio Carlos Jobim standard. Bucky smiles as he hears Ed perform the opening chord progression and sets right into playing. From the looks on their faces, it’s obvious the audience appreciates the complex interplay among the three stringed instruments — the two guitars and the acoustic bass.
Last in this trio of tunes is “Soon it’s Gonna Rain” from the long-running show, The Fantastiks. Ed — here sounding reminicent of jazz vocalist Mel Torme — sings lead while Bucky creates a countermelody on his 7-string guitar. Martin takes up the bottom on his acoustic bass. Ultimately, Bucky’s guitar solo takes the audience to another world.
The house lights come up as the musicians take questions and comments from the audience.
“What happened to the 96-year-old bass player you had last year?” someone asks. “Oh, he’s still with the group,” answers Ed, “but we have Bucky’s son, Martin, with us tonight.”
Another music lover in the audience comments, “Bucky… despite your stroke, it looks like we’re gonna be stuck with you for another 20 years!” going on to jokingly ask, “Do you think you can get me tickets to your son, John Pizzarelli’s, upcoming show here?”
Bucky laughs and the trio continues with an outstanding version of Duke Ellington’s classic, “Satin Doll,” a number which sets everyone’s toes tapping.
Ed Laub’s vocals are featured yet again on another fun number, “Rhode Island is Famous For You,” in which the audience learns, for example, that “Pencils come from Pennsylvania, vests from ‘Vest’ Virginia and tents from ‘Tent’-essee,” but “You come from Rhode Island and little old Rhode Island is famous for you.”
“Bravo!” the audience hoots and hollers.
The trio concludes the evening’s festivities with a tune Laub calls the “Pizzarelli National Anthem” which gets several members of the approving crowd yelling, “YAY, Bucky!”
As the audience files out of the theater, several members comment on the performance they’ve just witnessed. Darren from Brick, for example, notes, “Bucky has not lost his touch!” Beth, also from Brick, declares, “I love that he just radiates JOY!”
The musicians, too, have comments to make following the show. When asked how it feels to be performing here in New Jersey, Martin Pizzarelli says, “It’s great when you get to play in your home state.”
Martin goes on to reflect on just how thrilled everyone is that his dad is out touring again saying, “When Dad was in the hospital following his stroke, he played ‘air guitar.’ We didn’t know if he’d ever play for real again. But here he is.”
Going on to add, “Music is what keeps Dad going. In fact, he still goes to physical therapy for his knees, but instead of doing therapy this afternoon, he brought his guitar and played for an hour, telling everyone, ‘Hey, I have TWO gigs today!’”
An afternoon matinee at physical therapy and an evening concert at The Grunin Center?
Wow… Bucky really is back!
For more on upcoming performances by Bucky Pizzarelli, please go to 7stringmusic.com. For further information on future concerts at The Grunin Center in Toms River, NJ — including Bucky’s son, John Pizzarelli, with Ramsey Lewis on October 16; folksinger Arlo Guthrie on November 10; and TV’s Tom Wopat and Linda Purl on December 16 — please see grunincenter.org.
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