Good Morning Blues#2: Bucky Affair

The tune was Volare. It suddenly appeared while iPod was doing his shuffle thing, jumping from New Orleans in her heydays to a dying super stereo session in New York of the late 1960s. This uninvited Volare was a part of a heritage inherited to me from my friend/Uncle Ali-Reza. To listen to anything from his treasury, one needs wide open ears and Volare proved it one more time. Volare started with a bright swinging vibe introduction by master Lionel Hampton that session was recorded under his leadership as Lionel Hampton and Friends in 1977.

Then came the moment: one of the most floating sounds ever produced of strings. A Swing in full force, but at ease and like the sound of a man who is enjoying every breath he breathes. Life was glowing from every little note he was playing. His vibration was like a heartbeat: gentle, necessary and steadfast. A quick look at my discography book revealed his name: Bucky Pizzarelli. That was the first time I heard him and I won’t never forget that 'First.'

John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (born January 9, 1926) is an American Jazz guitarist that has been a fixture in jazz and the studios since the early '50s. Self-taught, Pizzarelli has long been a master of the seven-string guitar. He toured with Vaughn Monroe before and after a stint in the military. In 1952, he joined the staff of NBC and 12 years later switched to ABC; in addition, he worked with the Three Sounds (1956-1957) and had several tours with Benny Goodman. In the 1970s he was more active in jazz, co-leading a duo with George Barnes and working with Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman, and Stéphane Grappelli, among many others. Pizzarelli acknowledges Django Reinhardt and Freddie Green for their influences on his style and mode of play. He is 84 now, still alive and on.

--Ehsan Khoshbakht