Jazz at Lincoln Center presents: Singers Over Manhattan | Press Releases

Opening Night! Quick Center for the Arts
John Pizzarelli, with special guest Jane Monheit

8 p.m., Saturday, September 14, 2013
Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT
Tickets: $55, $40, $30

Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts raises the curtain on its 2013-2014 performance season at 8 p.m., Saturday, September 14, 2013, with Jazz at Lincoln Center presents: Singers Over Manhattan, featuring the dynamic sounds of John Pizzarelli, with special guest Jane Monheit. Opening night audiences can enjoy the dazzling sounds of the John Pizzarelli Quartet, vocalist Jane Monheit, and special guest Alphonso Horne on trumpet in one of Jazz at Lincoln Center's most popular programs. Support for this concert comes from media sponsors Venü Magazine and WPKN (89.5 FM). Tickets are $55, $40, and $30.

John Pizzarelli is a world-renowned jazz guitarist and singer who has established himself as one of the prime interpreters of the Great American Songbook and beyond, bringing to his work the cool jazz flavor of his brilliant guitar playing and singing. Pizzarelli started playing guitar at age six, following in the tradition of his father, the legendary jazz guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli. He began exploring jazz with his father as a teenager, and was able to perform with a number of great jazz musicians who would be a major influence on his work, including Benny Goodman, Les Paul, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry and Slam Stewart. John went out on his own after recording My Blue Heaven for Chesky Records in 1990, then toured extensively, playing clubs and concert halls, opening for such greats as Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis and Rosemary Clooney. In 1993, he opened for Frank Sinatra's international tour and then joined in the celebration for his 80th birthday at Carnegie Hall. Most recently, he has recorded a string of successful CDs for Telarc International including his 2008 GRAMMY® Award nominated With A Song In My Heart , which celebrates the music of legendary composer Richard Rodgers, and a popular TV commercial for Foxwoods Casino has made Pizzarelli a recognizable face. The singer-guitarist's latest album, Double Exposure , is a collection of tunes by some of the great pop songwriters of his own generation that are framed squarely within traditional jazz arrangements. A veteran radio personality, Pizzarelli hosted "New York Tonight" on WNEW from 1984 to 1988. He also successfully launched a nationally syndicated radio program "Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli," co-hosted with his wife, Broadway star Jessica Molaskey. Pizzarelli performs annual engagements at the Café Carlyle with Jessica Molaskey and at Birdland with his jazz combo. He continues to tour throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Japan, performing classic pop, jazz and swing, while setting the standard for stylish modern jazz.

Image: J Monheit Jane Monheit is renowned as one of the worlds most beloved and accomplished song stylists and has been a leading light in both the jazz and cabaret worlds since emerging as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute's 1998 vocal competition. She released her debut album, "Never Never Land," in 2000, which remained on the Billboard Jazz chart for over a year and was voted Best Debut Recording by the members of the Jazz Journalists Association. Her second release, "Come Dream With Me," came just a year later, landed atop the Billboard Jazz charts, and earned a Grammy nomination for Vince Mendoza for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals" (as did 2003's "In The Sun" for Mendoza's Arrangement of "Since You've Asked"). Her critically-lauded, "Surrender" also debuted at number one on the Billboard Jazz charts. Monheit's latest is the just-released "The Heart Of The Matter," the vocalist's ninth studio album. The disc features a wide-ranging choice of material, unique arrangements, and inspired performances and interpretations. The diverse and very personal set of songs includes both familiar standards and compositions by Lennon/McCartney, Randy Newman, two songs by Ivan Lins, recorded in the original Portuguese, and, for the first time, a Monheit original.

Tickets are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.quickcenter.com .

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.quickcenter.com .