John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland
2015 live album by John Pizzarelli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland is a tribute album by John Pizzarelli to American songwriter Johnny Mercer. It was recorded live at the Birdland jazz club in New York in 2014,[1] and released in 2015 by his Vector Records label.[2] The album was recorded as a medley,[3] interspersed with commentary by Pizzarelli.[4]
.jpg)
| John Pizzarelli Salutes Johnny Mercer: Live at Birdland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
| Venue | Birdland, New York | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Vector | |||
| John Pizzarelli chronology | ||||
| ||||
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 wrote in JazzTimes, "Pizzarelli manages to squeeze a remarkably panoptic homage into 65 minutes, covering 26 Mercer tunes, familiar and obscure, from all stages of his career...[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 Vintage Guitar magazine, Rich Kienzle wrote, "[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 are written by Johnny Mercer.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Medley" | 7:22 |
| 6. | "Skylark" | 3:53 |
| 7. | "Intro" (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 Medley" | 3:47 |
| 13. | "Slue Foot" | 3:11 |
| 14. | "Intro" (commentary) | 0:31 |
| 15. | "October Medley" | 5:33 |
| 16. | "Intro" (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 – trombone
- 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]