1. By Myself
2. A Man Alone
3. Walk Away
4. Over the Rainbow
5. Emily
6. Waiting for the Phantom
7. All the Way Home/Moon River
8. Cycles
9. Greensleeves
10. Stairway to Heaven
11. Danny Boy
John Pizzarelli - Electric guitar
Bucky Pizzarelli - Acoustic guitar
Martin Pizzarelli - Bass
Aaron Weinstein - Violin
Larry Fuller - Piano
Tony Tedesco - Drums
Jessica Molaskey - Vocals (track 11)
It was a good idea. Record producer Paul Hanly dreamed of an album containing his favourite songs performed by "The Pizzarelli Boys" - most of the musicians who had already made
a CD called Pizzarelli Party.
Hanly wanted a collection of the songs he would take to a desert island, as in the long-running BBC programme Desert Island Discs. Hanly is clearly a connoisseur of good songs, as the album starts with the Dietz & Schwartz tune By Myself, rendered so memorably by Fred Astaire in the film The Band Wagon. At any rate, this CD fulfils Paul's dream, and it certainly evokes the feeling of relaxing on a tropical island without a care in the world. The music is mostly very relaxed - maybe a mite too relaxed, as the dreamy atmosphere can become soporific. The musicians play with their customary skill (pianist Larry Fuller is consistently good), butt the overall mood is predominantly laid-back.
Even on a desert island, you would probably want to get up and jig about now and then, but this album doesn't encourage jigging - except perhaps in parts of John Pizzarelli's bluesy composition Waiting for the Phantom (which actually builds up a head of steam) and in Stairway to Heaven, when the tempo quickens for a skittering piano solo and even a couple of drum breaks.
I always look forward to albums featuring John Pizzarelli - both for his stimulating guitar and friendly vocals. But here he largely plays gently and doesn't sing any of the songs. His guitar solo on Emily sounds very like Les Paul (staccato with note-bending) - a comparison I have noted before. Yet his and his father Bucky's guitar contributions are dominated by Aaron Weinstein's violin, which takes the lead on most tunes, occasionally with a slightly sour tone. Jessica Molaskey (alias Mrs John Pizzarelli) adds vocals to Danny Boy but mars the pathos by adopting a pseudo-Oirish accent which sounds phoney.
It was a nice idea for a CD but the almost unvaried placid mood, though appealing, makes this a good album for dozing rather than dancing. One other problem is that the usual clear typeface used by Arbors on record sleeves has been replaced by small type on a grey background, rendering it difficult to read.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Arbors Jazz ARCD 19412
