CD Review - John Pizzarelli's 'With a Song in My Heart'

JOHN PIZZARELLI "With a Song in My Heart" Telarc

AS HIS PREVIOUS salutes to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim illustrate, guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli is drawn to class acts. Yet, as he explains in the liner notes to his latest CD, Pizzarelli hasn't spent a lot of time exploring the "upper tier" of the Great American Songbooks. Enter Richard Rodgers.

"With a Song in My Heart" celebrates Rodgers's legacy in a variety of engaging settings: from the whisper-soft "It's Easy to Remember" to the scat-laced "I Like to Recognize the Tune" to the brassy "The Lady Is a Tramp" to the rueful, horn-limned "She Was Too Good to Me." Each of these gems, not coincidentally, boasts lyrics by Lorenz Hart, but Pizzarelli also performs two songs from Rodgers's "South Pacific" collaborations with Oscar Hammerstein II: "Happy Talk," softly propelled by a bossa nova beat; and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," which serves as the album's cautionary coda.

Despite its emphasis on crooning vocals, "With a Song in My Heart" amply showcases Pizzarelli's seven-string guitar finesse. Fans expecting to hear examples of his swinging virtuosity and harmonic propulsion will find plenty to enjoy here. What's more, the horn arrangements devised by Don Sebesky help set apart this remarkably tuneful session.

-- Mike Joyce

Appearing Sunday at Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis (410-268-4545, www.ramsheadtavern.com). Shows start at 5 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $35.