John Pizzarelli - Ps Mr Cole

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Music reviews of Ps Mr Cole

Music Review: Keeping It Simple
Rating: 5 Stars

When Pizzarelli gets the right material, it seems to fit him like the proverbial old pair of shoes. Unlike his more publicized contemporaries Harry Connick and Diana Krall, in whose music one can almost sense the marketing department in the studio booth, Pizzarelli's music is long on rhythms short on affectations.

Tenor sax guy Harry Allen jumps in for a couple of tracks and, as when Harry Edison would sneak onto Nat Cole's small group albums, we are grateful for the visit. Ray Kennedy and Martin Pizzarelli, on piano and bass respectively, provide the low-key foundation that allows this album to fly high. In the spirit of the Nat Cole Trio, Pizzarelli's group is all about retraint here, and this is not a complaint by any means.

The only "non-Nat" song is #18, a live version of "I Like Jersey Best." Like many people, I had only heard about this peon to the Garden State. The live version allows Pizzarelli to imitate both Lou Rawls and Lou Reed (but not New Jerseyan Lou Costello)in the same verse, and his Billie Holiday is not to be missed.

Broadway & Vocalists CDs

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