John Pizzarelli, world-renowned guitarist and singer, is a premier contemporary interpreter of the Great American Songbook, with a repertoire that includes Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles. He has been hailed by The Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and repopularizing jazz.” The Toronto Star pegged him as “the genial genius of the guitar.” A walking history of American popular history, John has performed and recorded with a wide variety of icons in American music, including George Shearing, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Frigo, Sir Paul McCartney, Michael McDonald, and various orchestras.
John’s “formal” musical education was held on the road with his famous father, the legendary Bucky Pizzarelli. The teaching produced great results, accelerating John’s ascendancy in the music world. John has created musical tributes to both Nat King Cole and, more recently, Pat Metheny. He’s recorded more than 30 albums as a leader, including his latest, Stage and Screen, featuring compositions from various films and musicals.
In 2020 John collaborated with the singer-songwriter James Taylor for his album American Standard, featuring songs from the Great American Songbook. In addition to working with Catherine Russell in a show they call “Billie and Blue Eyes”—a tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra—John performs regularly with his wife, vocalist Jessica Molaskey, with whom he hosts the popular radio show “Radio Deluxe” and appears in an annual residency at the Café Carlyle in NYC. He appears regularly at Birdland and will be hosting late-night shows at Birdland at Sea during The Jazz Cruise ’25.