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Staying 'Jersey Fresh' with John Pizzarelli episode artwork

Oct 9, 2025 28 min

Staying 'Jersey Fresh' with John Pizzarelli

from Jersey Arts Podcast Hosted by ArtPride New Jersey

John Pizzarelli is a guitarist and singer who has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” He’s been established as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook and has even expanded that repertoire by including the music of Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles. In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer, Pizzarelli has been a special guest on recordings for major pop names such as Natalie Cole, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Wopat, Rickie Lee Jones and Dave Van Ronk, as well as leading jazz artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Johnny Frigo, Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen and, of course, his father Bucky Pizzarelli. He won a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category as co-producer of James Taylor’s American Standard in 2021. He has performed on America’s most popular national television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and Great Performances, as well as the talk shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And my favorite fun fact, the wonder of it all, is that he was the singer in the popular Foxwoods Casino commercials for just under a decade. This October, he will be one of the featured headliners at the Jazz at the Point Festival hosted by the South Jersey Jazz Society. Stay tuned to drop in on one of our most relaxed conversations with the delightful John Pizzarelli. Thanks for listening! Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player. The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene. Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox. Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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John Pizzarelli is a guitarist and singer who has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” He’s been established as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook and has even expanded that repertoire by including the music of Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles. In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer, Pizzarelli has been a special g...

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Staying 'Jersey Fresh' with John Pizzarelli

0:00 28:30

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Setting The Stage
  2. 0:27 Introducing John Pizzarelli
  3. 2:08 Weather, Travel, And Home Bases
  4. 3:16 Jersey Roots And Early Gigs
  5. 6:26 New Brunswick Stories And Serendipity
  6. 8:31 Les Paul, Photos, And Club Memories
  7. 9:29 From Rock Bands To Nat King Cole
  8. 12:25 Finding A Jazz Path And First Records
  9. 14:11 Advice For Young Musicians
  10. 17:08 Working With McCartney And Taylor
  11. 19:11 The Foxwoods Jingle Era
  12. 20:28 Jazz At The Point Preview
  13. 22:08 Parkway Nostalgia And Stories
  14. 24:09 Family Collaboration And Radio Deluxe
  15. 26:07 Stage And Screen: Pandemic To Album
  16. 28:03 Plugs, Upcoming Projects, And Closing

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This episode is 28 minutes long.

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This episode was published on October 9, 2025.

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