Bucky Pizzarelli

Bucky Pizzarelli, an outgoing and affable guitarist, sustained the legacy of classic jazz and swing deep into the twenty-first century. Shaped by forward-thinking players such as Django Reinhardt and George Van Eps, he demonstrated mastery of both the six-string and seven-string guitar. After gaining notice as a New York sideman during the 1950s, he solidified his standing through membership in the NBC Tonight Show Band throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In tandem with road work alongside figures such as Benny Goodman, he issued personal recordings that upheld mainstream jazz conventions while collaborating with peers including Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman, Slam Stewart, and additional veterans. These practices he transmitted to his sons, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli and bassist Martin Pizzarelli, via several respected joint albums such as 2007’s Generations, 2009’s Pizzarelli Party, and 2011’s Family Fugue, which displayed his dry wit and spirited technique on the fretboard. Active well into his eighties, Pizzarelli pursued an array of musical directions, illustrated by the 2015 classical and standards collection Renaissance.

John Paul “Bucky” Pizzarelli entered the world in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1926, raised in a musically inclined household that placed guitar and banjo in his hands during early childhood. His uncles, working musicians Pete and Bobby Domenick, provided initial direction toward jazz and classical repertoire. A swinging approach soon developed, informed by Django Reinhardt, Freddie Green, and seven-string pioneer George Van Eps. Professional work commenced at age seventeen with the Vaughn Monroe dance orchestra. Further engagements followed, leading in 1952 to a position in the NBC staff orchestra then directed by Skitch Henderson. For the ensuing decade he balanced network obligations with club dates across New York City. He also performed with the Three Suns trio under the pseudonym “Johnny Buck” and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Tony Mottola, Mat Mathews, and others. His first album as leader appeared in 1960 as the duo effort Music Minus Many Men with bassist Vinnie Burke. In 1964 he joined Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Band, which featured trumpeter Doc Severinsen, and began touring with Benny Goodman’s ensemble.

Recordings increased during the 1970s, opening with 1972’s Green Guitar Blues, which included bassist George Duvivier and drummer Don Lamond. A duo with guitarist George Barnes took shape, and work with clarinetist Goodman continued. Subsequent releases encompassed 1975’s Nightwings, a solo-guitar project that also featured Joe Venuti; 1977’s Bucky’s Bunch with bassist Slam Stewart and clarinetist Eddie Daniels; and 1977’s Doug and Buck with pedal-steel player Doug Jernigan. Additional sessions occurred with Zoot Sims and Bud Freeman, along with an album of Bix Beiderbecke material arranged by Bill Challis.

During the same decade Pizzarelli began featuring his son, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, in live appearances. Their first joint recording arrived with 1980’s 2x7=Pizzarelli, presenting the nineteen-year-old John in duet format with his father. Bucky also supported John on the latter’s solo debut, 1983’s I’m Hip: Please Don’t Tell My Father. Further collaborations followed on John’s albums, among them 1990’s My Blue Heaven, 1991’s All of Me, 1993’s Naturally, and 1994’s New Standards. Pizzarelli resumed solo activity in 1995 with Nirvana, accompanied by bassist Lynn Seaton and drummer Bernard Purdie. He next joined violinist Richard Carr for 1998’s String Thing and reunited with his son for 1999’s Contrasts. That same year he released the solo seven-string date April Kisses.

A second solo seven-string album, One Morning in May, appeared in 2001. Also that year he united with pianist John Bunch and bassist Jay Leonhart for the Duke Ellington program Manhattan Swing: A Visit with the Duke. The same personnel, augmented by drummer Dennis Mackrel, returned in 2003 with Plays the Music of Jerome Kern. Moonglow, a partnership with guitarist Frank Vignola, surfaced in 2005, followed in 2007 by 5 for Freddie: Bucky’s Tribute to Freddie Green. Another duo album with son John, Generations, also arrived in 2007. Eclectic interests surfaced on the Western-swing projects Diggin’ Up Bones in 2009 and Back in the Saddle Again: Arbors Country Series, Vol. 2 in 2010. Family Fugue in 2011 again centered on both Bucky and John, after which the elder Pizzarelli honored arranger Bill Challis with Challis in Wonderland. The trio set Three for All appeared in 2014, succeeded a year later by the classical-oriented Renaissance. Bucky Pizzarelli died on April 1, 2020, at age 94, from complications related to COVID-19.