For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole John Pizzarelli

• 1 Straighten Up and Fly Right 04:32
• 2 A Hundred Years from Now 02:36
• 3 The Very Thought of You 03:22
• 4 (I Would Do) Anything for You 03:18
• 5 I'm Such a Hungry Man 04:52
• 6 It's Only a Paper Moon 04:46
• 7 Body and Soul 03:39
• 8 Nat King Cool 03:22
• 9 When I Fall in Love 04:03
• 10 Save the Bones for Henry Jones ('Cause Henry Don't Eat Meat) 02:35
• 11 Hit That Jive, Jack! 03:55
• 12 Could-'Ja 03:06
• 13 Red Sails in the Sunset 03:20
• 14 (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 04:32
• Total Runtime 51:58

Info for For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole

Ghostlight Deluxe, an imprint of Ghostlight Records, will release For Centennial Reasons: 100 Year Salute to Nat King Cole – the new album from the John Pizzarelli Trio – in physical, digital and streaming formats on Friday, February 8. Following high-profile collaborations with Sir Paul McCartney and Michael McDonald, Pizzarelli returns to his roots to honor his hero, the legendary jazz/pop vocalist and pianist Nat King Cole, whose centennial is being celebrated around the world this year with various concerts, books and recordings. For Centennial Reasons... completes an epic trio of Pizzarelli albums saluting Cole, starting with Dear Mr. Cole, which helped put Pizzarelli on the map as an influential jazz guitarist and singer in 1994, and continuing with P.S. Mr. Cole, which cemented his legacy five years later.

For Centennial Reasons... – featuring John Pizzarelli on guitar and vocals, Mike Karn on double bass, and Konrad Paszkudzki on piano – is produced by John Pizzarelli and co-produced by Jessica Molaskey. National tour dates are available at JohnPizzarelli.com.

"Nat King Cole is the reason why I do what I do," comments Pizzarelli. "The joy that he brought me has never faded and the musicality of his group remains fresh and vibrant to this day. I even got to work with Natalie Cole, Nat's daughter, meet Nat's wife Maria Cole, and become friends with and play with Freddy Cole, Nat's brother. We are lucky to have lived in a world that gave us Nat Cole, the man and the music."

For Centennial Reasons... features several songs Pizzarelli hasn't previously recorded, from timeless well-known ballads ("When I Fall in Love," "Body and Soul," "The Very Thought of You") to idiosyncratic jazz classics (Bobby Troup's "I'm Such a Hungry Man," "Save the Bones for Henry Jones"). The album also revisits and updates several numbers that Pizzarelli recorded earlier in his career. "After years of performing live," he explains, "the trio has developed and refined these songs and, over time, figured out what we feel have become the definitive versions. Some arrangements, like 'Route 66,' have gotten much faster. But 'Straighten Up and Fly Right,' which I recorded for my first album way back in 1983, has settled into more of a mellow tone. After all this time, I can slow down and savor it. These songs never get old."

In addition to these original takes on recognized Cole standards, this album introduces two new songs inspired by Cole's spirit. "Nat King Cool," written by Pizzarelli, is a sophisticated homage to the Cole Trio's famous instrumental tracks. With his wife, singer Jessica Molaskey, he penned "A Hundred Years from Now," which craftily uses oft-cited jazz phrases to express the essence of long-term romance.

John Pizzarelli, guitar, vocals
Mike Karn, double bass
Konrad Paszkudzki, piano

Produced by John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey.

John Pizzarelli
has cultivated a winning international career by singing classic standards and late-night ballads, and by playing sublime and inventive guitar. Using greats like Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra and the songs of writers like Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen as touchstones, Pizzarelli is among the prime revivalists of the great American songbook, bringing to his work the cool jazz flavor of his brilliant guitar playing.

Born on April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey, Pizzarelli has been playing guitar since age six, following in the tradition of his father, guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli. Hanging out with his father, John was exposed to all the great jazz music of the era, from Erroll Garner and Les Paul to Django Reinhardt. He began playing with his father at age 20, then went out on his own. Since 1992, the John Pizzarelli Trio has toured extensively. In 1993, they were honored to open for Frank Sinatra's international tour and then joined in the celebration for his 80th birthday at Carnegie Hall.

John Pizzarelli’s voice has continued to develop with time, displaying both charm and humor. He has recorded as a bandleader for RCA, Chesky, Stash and Novus, and in 1997 appeared in the Broadway musical Dream, a revue of Johnny Mercer songs. Along the way, Pizzarelli has earned rave reviews. “The John Pizzarelli Trio has never been tighter, and Pizzarelli himself has never been looser,” the Village Voice said of a recent New York show. “We can say we’re as lucky to listen to (Pizzarelli) as Nat Cole fans were in the years before he became a legend.” Pizzarelli was also named “Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by Swing Journal in their Readers Poll.

This album contains no booklet.