Armed with a new guitar, a new beard and a snappy suit, John Pizzarelli was in particularly fine form at his latest appearance on the stage of the Lobero Theatre last week. A superb entertainer with formidable chops, a great sense of humor and a tight band to back him, Mr. P put on a heck of a show. The new guitar is another custom 7 string hollow body by master luthier Bill Moll, but with a difference. John told Mr. Moll he’s always admired the classic Les Paul Gold Top solid body electric guitar and asked him if he could make a jazz hollow body version of that iconic design and color scheme. So now John has a snazzy (and great sounding) giant “Les Paul” to go with his “Guys and Dolls” pinstripe suit and trim grizzled beard, both of which he poked self-deprecating fun at. He breaths new vitality and swing into well known classics form the jazz songbook, mixes in some non-jazz such as Paul McCartney’s post Beatles rep, stirs it all up with fretboard wizardry and many funny stories for a truly satisfying evening’s entertainment. The stellar band was pianist Konrad Paszkudzki , who played some mind-bending solos, bassist Mike Karn, and drummer Kevin Kanner.
