Remembering Bucky Pizzarelli, Jazz Guitarist (1926-2020)
January 13, 2022
Hello music lovers, this is Peter, the audio-video librarian. Sadly, we lost another jazz great last month. Bucky Pizzarelli died of coronavirus on April 1st at 94. He was active as a performer and recording artist until shortly before his final illness. Pizzarelli was known primarily as a studio session musician until his late 40’s, playing with the Tonight Show band in New York until the show moved to California in 1972, and with the Benny Goodman Orchestra until Goodman’s death in 1986.
Once Mr. Pizzarelli began performing and recording as a soloist, as a sideman for leading jazz greats or as leader of his own small group in Manhattan nightclubs, his career and fame took off. What always impressed me about his playing was his use of a seven string guitar, with the extra string tuned to enable him to provide his own bass line, making him an especially effective and expressive soloist. The same technique is used by his son, John Pizzarelli, who was taught by and often performed and recorded with his father.
The Lindenhurst Memorial Library is proud to present a comprehensive and excellent offering of every music genre, including all forms of jazz, via the digital service Hoopla, which can be easily accessed on the home page of our website. Downloads are immediate with no waiting time, and are automatically returned after seven days. The following link will bring you directly to the many recordings available from Hoopla on which Bucky Pizzarelli appears, as a soloist or accompanist, or with his ensembles. Please give his music a listen, and enjoy!
https://www.hoopladigital.com/search?page=1&q=bucky+pizzarelli&scope=MUSIC&type=direct
To sign up for a Hoopla account through the Library, you will need to enter the email and password connected to your library card, select your home library of Lindenhurst from a drop-down list, and enter your library card barcode. Click here for your library account. If your card has expired, you may click here for a temporary Library card while the Library is closed. For any other issues that arise, please email the Library at info@lindenhurstlibrary.org for help.
