Ninety years old this month and patricarch of a notable jazz dynasty, Bucky Pizzarelli is the complete jazz guitarist. A resourceful soloist and superb accompanist, he apparently carries in his revered head every song ever written. He also plays a seven-string guitar – presumably finding the usual six insufficient. Here, along with his friend and former pupil, Ed Laub, he plays a selection from his vast repertoire, displaying that effortless simplicity which is the despair of lesser mortals. Reverting to six strings, he also performs a guitar concerto by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He heard Segovia play it in 1939 and has, he says, been “nibbling at it” for the past 60-odd years. The man’s a phenomenon!
