Video: Bucky Pizzarelli, The Comeback Kid
By Kevin Coughlin
Bucky Pizzarelli still has some music left in him.
Sidelined earlier this year with serious health issues, the 90-year-old guitar great was determined to make it back to the annual Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival.
“I didn’t want to miss this. And I was lucky I made it,” Bucky said backstage Saturday, after playing a 90-minute set on a warm stage on the Morristown Green.
It was the first time most fans could remember seeing Pizzarelli, who usually performs in a blazer, wearing shirtsleeves. His wife Ruth also made a rare appearance, to cheer him on.
Last fall, Pizzarelli had what he describes as a “mini-stroke.” Complications ensued and he spent four months in a rehab facility.
His longtime musical partner and former pupil, Ed Laub, helped him relearn songs that had become hazy from the illness.
Laub was by Bucky’s side onstage in Morristown, along with Bucky’s son, bass player Martin Pizzarelli, and violinist Aaron Weinstein.
Slideshow photos by Jeff Sovelove and Kevin Coughlin
They began with an homage to Rusty Paul, son of the late, great Les Paul. Rusty passed away in January from diabetes. A musical tribute next month at the Elks Club in Mahwah will raise money for research.
After Saturday’s set, Pizzarelli was greeted with a belated chorus of Happy Birthday (he turned 90 in January) led by jazz favorite Grover Kemble.
Next came a giant cake. Festival producers Linda Smith and Don Jay Smith apologized for its frosty decoration–the guitar only had six strings, instead of seven, like the instrument Pizzarelli plays.
Nobody seemed to mind too much, least of all the birthday boy.
Bucky Pizzarelli was savoring his day in the sun. He had made it to the festival. That was the icing on the cake.
