Pizzarelli, McGovern to perform

The jazz-pop guitarist-singer is slowly gaining recognition, but the rise to the top is steep.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
If one thing separates jazz-pop crooners Harry Connick Jr. and John Pizzarelli, it's superstardom. Pizzarelli wants his share of it, someday, but on his terms.
"I'd like to get all the stuff that comes with it, but I'm still working. I like working," said Pizzarelli, reached in Muncie, Ind.
Pizzarelli and his trio will share the bill with Maureen McGovern in a Monday Musical Club concert Sunday night at Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown.
McGovern is another jazz-pop singer who enjoys instant name recognition, especially in the Mahoning Valley. That's what happens when you're a Boardman High School graduate who gets your big break by singing the Oscar-winning theme songs for major motion pictures ("The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure" and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from "The Towering Inferno"). McGovern also has TV, Broadway and numerous recording credits, including a Grammy-nominated jazz album.
Background: Pizzarelli has been creeping into the public's consciousness. His trio opened concerts for the late Frank Sinatra in 1993 and played at Sinatra's 80th birthday concert in Carnegie Hall. He was in the Broadway production of "Dreams," which featured the music of songwriter Johnny Mercer, in 1997.
Pizzarelli's latest CD is "Let There Be Love," an intimate recording of mid-tempo ballads that fit his love-is-a-many-faceted-thing theme. "These Foolish Things" and "As Time Goes By" are among the classics that Pizzarelli recorded alongside songs he wrote with his wife, Jessica Molasky, and his friend and pianist Ray Kennedy.
It's quite a change for Pizzarelli, who built his reputation on swing and put his own touch on Beatles songs he recorded two years ago. It would have been risky to make "Let There Be Love" early in his career, Pizzarelli acknowledged.
"It sounds stupid, but this past year is where I really feel like I've seen all the hard work" pay off, said Pizzarelli, who will be 41 on April 6.
"Let There Be Love" is Pizzarelli's 17th recording and second with Cleveland-based Telarc Records. He likes Telarc's approach -- he makes records his way, and Telarc figures out how to market them. He doesn't believe he'll have to trade control for fame.
"I can maintain that autonomy forever," he said. "My father has done it for 50 years. I don't see why we can't.
"I never really had to worry about selling a lot of records ... we make a great living, play a lot of dates. The record is almost secondary to performing," he said.
Collaboration: Pizzarelli said he and McGovern have been talking about a joint tour for five or six years. He and his trio will start the show with a set list that "changes almost nightly, depending on what mood we're in," he said. McGovern will be backed by the Big Band Swing Orchestra as she sings American pop standards. Pizzarelli will return near the end to perform three songs with McGovern.
Pizzarelli said he and McGovern are a good fit in concert because "she's so musical. We're both very musical people. We really listen to each other. ...
"She's such a professional. You always get a great performance out of her, and I hear it. It's great to have that next to you every night."
XMcGovern and Pizzarelli will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown. Tickets are $19 to $28. Call (330) 743-2717. They will also appear at 8 p.m. Monday at Westminster College Orr Auditorium, New Wilmington, Pa. Call the Celebrity Series office at (724) 946-7354 for information.