John Pizzarelli Dear Mr. Sinatra (2006)

John Pizzarelli, one of the most celebrated performers bringing popular standards to a new generation, pays homage to Frank Sinatra with the release of Dear Mr. Sinatra. Early in his career, Pizzarelli opened for Sinatra on tour. His father, the jazz guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, played on many of Sinatra's seminal recordings. Focusing on songs that were specifically written for 'Ol' Blue Eyes' and also featuring The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Dear Mr. Sinatra is in many ways the most personal of all the Sinatra tributes available.

John Pizzarelli, one of the most celebrated performers bringing popular standards to a new generation, pays homage to Frank Sinatra with the release of Dear Mr. Sinatra. Early in his career, Pizzarelli opened for Sinatra on tour. His father, the jazz guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, played on many of Sinatra's seminal recordings. Focusing on songs that were specifically written for 'Ol' Blue Eyes' and also featuring The Clayton- Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Dear Mr. Sinatra is in many ways the most personal of all the Sinatra tributes available. Dear Mr. Sinatra, follows Pizzarelli's highly-acclaimed tributes to Nat King Cole (Dear Mr. Cole and P.S. Mr. Cole), Antonio Carlos Jobim (Bossa Nova) and The Beatles (John Pizzarelli Meets The Beatles).

Just as when we listen to Harry Connick, Jr., there's a sense that John Pizzarelli is an old soul who is living back in the 1940s and '50s golden age of music and that listeners are time-traveling with him. But that just bears testament to the timeless nature of his easy vocals, lush and often snappy electric guitar work and the loving way he embraces classic material. P.S. Mr. Cole, the follow-up to Dear Mr. Cole is as, unforgettable as his first tribute to the grace and panache of Nat King Cole. –Jonathan Widran