music

Music lovers are filtering in to Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts on this Sunday, September 26, 2021 evening to experience Billie & Blue Eyes, a musical tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra presented by singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli and jazz vocalist Catherine Russell.

John Pizzarelli was born in Paterson, NJ. As a youngster, he took lessons on banjo but soon switched over to guitar. He also played trumpet in college. As the son of jazz guitar great, Bucky Pizzarelli, while still a teenager, John had the experience of performing with the likes of Benny Goodman, Clark Terry, and Les Paul. With a trio he founded with his brother, Martin, Pizzarelli spent time in the 1990s as the opening act for Frank Sinatra, whom he’s honored with recordings including 2006’s Dear Mr. Sinatra and 2017’s Sinatra and Jobim at 50.

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