Dan's Papers -November 21, 2008 -

Jazz enthusiasts will have a tough time deciding what to do on Nov. 29, with two renowned artists performing on the East End. Jazz guitarist, vocalist and bandleader, John Pizzarelli will be at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor that day, while Michael Feinstein, a singer and pianist well known for his interpretations of The Great American Songbook, will be heading for the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. Both go on at 8 p.m., so choose wisely, but there is no wrong answer.

At WHBPAC, Feinstein, the darling of the top cabarets in New York and nationwide, will present a full concert of his quintessential piano and vocals. Just a few months ago, Feinstein released his latest album The Sinatra Project - his first recorded tribute to a performer. "Sinatra considered himself, first and foremost, to be an interpreter of song," stated Feinstein in a press release, "and his influence on other entertainers is incalculable. He has become so thoroughly entrenched in the history of American popular song that it is impossible to open your mouth and sing without his influence being part of that."

Heavily influenced by the Great American Songbook, Feinstein is known for his covers of musicians such as Porter, Cole and Gershwin. He's dedicated his career to preserving such music and is even a member of The Library of Congress to serve on the National Sound Recording Advisory Board.

At Bay Street, Pizzarelli will perform selections from his new CD With a Song in My Heart, a collection of songs by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musical collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein. Pizzarelli plans to intermix songs from that CD with fan favorites from throughout his career. "I want to get a little bit of everything in there," he said, noting that he's performed at Bay Street several times before and loves to make the trip to the East End.

The homage to Rodgers was an outside choice for Pizzarelli, who mulled over options such as another album of originals, or perhaps an album of Johnny Mercer tunes. "But then we made a left turn to Richard Rodgers," he said. In a press release, Pizzarelli had stated, "A lot of his musicals are being revived right now. South Pacific is at Lincoln Center. Pal Joey is coming soon. There's a lot of Rodgers in the air. So it was just a matter of picking songs that I liked - things that would be interesting and make a nice package."

The son of legendary jazz performer Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli grew up in New Jersey in a musical household. He developed an interest in jazz at an early age, but dabbled in rock and pop, influences that still show themselves in his career today through his covers of songs by The Beatles, the Beach Boys and James Taylor. And before he knew it, he was following in his father's footsteps. "This is something I enjoyed doing," he said. "I didn't realize I was making a living at it until I was well into it, because it was fun for me. But it took time to shape what I wanted to be - someone who sang standards in a small setting." Pizzarelli has released albums of both original songs as well as covers. His vocals are often compared to Nat King Cole.

Pizzarelli is also known for his radio show, Radio Deluxe, which he does with his wife and co-host, Jessica Molaskey, who is also a singer. "We were thrown into it," he said. "They were trying to bottle what my wife and I did on stage, the banter between songs." Though they were initially wary of doing it, now they love their show, which features two hours of jazz and real, intimate conversation, as well as a list of guests that has included Regis Philbin, Liza Minelli, Tony Danza and Steve Tyrell. "The charm of the shows is there's no play list."

Right before the show, Pizzarelli says he and his wife make a playlist of 15 songs each and choose songs from these. "That's the beauty of the show. Then we talk about what we like and don't like. We talk about what we're making for lunch. We play a record. There's a charm to it. The beauty is, it's not programmed."

Tickets to see Pizzarelli at Bay Street are $75. Prior to the show, he will be a guest on Judy Carmichael's live radio show, "Jazz Inspired," which will also be recorded at Bay Street. Tickets for this are $25. For more information, go to www.baystreet.org. Tickets to see Feinstein cost $140/$120/$100. For more information, go to www.whbpac.org.