Music lovers make their way inside South Orange, NJ’s SOPAC theater this Sunday, December 21, 2025 evening for a sold-out Swinging Into the Holidays and More performance by jazz musician John Pizzarelli.
John Pizzarelli was born in Paterson, NJ. As a youngster, he took lessons on banjo but soon switched over to guitar. 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.
Playing on over 50 albums by such celebrated artists as Rosemary Clooney, The Manhattan Transfer, and Paul McCartney, Pizzarelli won a Grammy for co-producing James Taylor’s 2020 album, American Standard. He’s also appeared on over two dozen solo recordings including his latest effort, 2023’s Stage and Screen.
Inside the cozy SOPAC auditorium, Executive Director Lana Rogachevskaya introduces John Pizzarelli who takes the stage along with bassist Mike Karn and pianist Ben Collins-Siegel. Welcoming the crowd, Pizzarelli explains, “Tonight’s show is called Swinging into the Holidays and More, but we’re gonna do the ‘more’ first and then work our way over to the holidays to send you out in a very festive mood!”
Opening with “Dreams Come True,” Pizzarelli sings, “If dreams come true/I’ll be with you,” while strumming his guitar on this bouncy swing tune. Collins-Siegel renders a jazzy solo, Pizzarelli incorporates a lick from “Sweet Georgia Brown” as he improvises, and Karn scats softly while plucking his bass before the trio deftly concludes the tune.
Concertgoers cheer and Pizzarelli and Co. segue into an upbeat jazz version of “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” where Pizzarelli slides up and down the neck of his guitar on a chordal jazz solo, Collins-Siegel renders quick runs on the piano, and Karn’s bluesy solo inspires applause from the crowd.
“Thank you very much! It’s a home game for me tonight,” jokes Pizzarelli, who was raised in Saddle River, NJ. Acknowledging, “I thought I’d catch a few Jersey things throughout the program,” Pizzarelli takes a moment to chat with pianist Ben Collins-Siegel, a Maplewood, NJ college student who’s currently majoring in jazz studies in Florida.
Launching into a spirited instrumental version of “I Want to Be Happy,” Pizzarelli strums out a banjo-like chord solo, Collins-Siegel’s fingers dance across the keys, and Karn hops aboard the runaway train by contributing a rumbling bass solo before Pizzarelli and Collins-Siegel trade licks and the arrangement crescendos to a big finish to avid cheers and applause.
Pizzarelli entertains the crowd with stories about his career as a young musician, mentioning how his father, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, changed his life by suggesting he listen to records by The Nat King Cole Trio. Here, Pizzarelli performs “Paper Moon” where he croons with style, “You say it’s only a paper moon/Sailing over a cardboard sea,” on a jazzy swing arrangement of the Nat King Cole staple.
The crowd hoots and hollers and Pizzarelli reveals that, growing up, he wanted to be like Billy Joel and Peter Frampton and started to write his own material. Stepping into his original composition, “Headed Out to Vera’s,” Pizzarelli and Co. render an upbeat swing blues about a Paterson, NJ woman who cooked for jazz musicians who came to perform in town.
A highlight of tonight’s program is “Oklahoma Suite,” a medley of tunes from the Broadway musical, Oklahoma! Karn plays the melody on his bass with a bow on “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” before Collins-Siegel and Pizzarelli take over on a lovely jazz waltz version of the tune. After slowing down for a swing rendition of “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No,” Pizzarelli’s tremolo guitar is featured on the ballad, “People Will Say We’re in Love.”
The trio picks up the tempo on a bebop-inspired interpretation of “Surrey with a Fringe on Top” and the medley concludes with a strummy version of the show’s title tune, “Oklahoma!”
Music lovers cheer and Pizzarelli responds by talking about the origin of his own 1995 recording, “I Like Jersey Best.” After joking with the Jersey crowd, “This material should work here!” Pizzarelli gets listeners laughing by performing the selection in the style of a variety of artists including Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Billie Holiday, Lou Reed, Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, James Taylor, Johnny Cash, The Police, and Roy Orbison to enthusiastic whistles and cheers.
Karn and Collins-Siegel join Pizzarelli on a bouncy rendition of “Let it Snow” where the crowd joyfully sings along on the tune’s “Let it snow/Let it snow/Let it snow” refrain. Then, Pizzarelli and Co. follow up with a series of holiday tunes including a bossa nova version of “Winter Wonderland,” an original “swinging Hanukkah love song” called “Little Miracle,” and a slow jazz ballad entitled “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
The sold-out crowd is happy to join Pizzarelli on a performance of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” After assigning specific vocal parts to concertgoers seated in various sections of the theater, the audience sings with Pizzarelli as he conducts a hilarious rendition of the cumulative number which ends in avid cheers and applause.
Pizzarelli announces, “Thank you so much for coming out to hear us!” as he and the band gallop into a rambunctious instrumental rendition of “Sleigh Ride” which has music fans clapping along to the infectious rhythm before rising for a standing ovation.
Pizzarelli bows and exits the stage but returns with his colleagues to perform an encore of his mother’s favorite song, “The More I See You.”
Following this easy swing version of the tune, Pizzarelli and friends take another bow while the audience stands and enthusiastically cheers.
As concertgoers make their way out of the SOPAC auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s performance. Remarks Alquinn from Passaic, “John Pizzarelli was good — really good — tonight! He’s a great musician and storyteller,” prior to adding, “‘I Love Jersey Best’ was really great, and it was so much fun singing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’”
Declan, a musician from South Orange, comments, “I love John! I grew up seeing him and his father perform over the years, and it was kind of a whim decision to come see him tonight. He’s an amazing storyteller and a brilliant guitar player and it’s always a treat to see him play, plus his bassist was great and his piano player was unbelievable, too.”
Frank from Maplewood insists, “It was a terrific concert! John’s a great guitar player and his show was a lot of fun.” Margaret from Maplewood, concurs, adding, “The surprising thing to me was I knew he was a great musician and I figured he’d have great musicians playing with him, but I didn’t expect him to be so funny. He’s a really great storyteller.”
Sandy from Morristown asserts, “I thought John Pizzarelli was fantastic tonight — really great! He put on such an enjoyable and fun performance. He plays so well and he’s so charismatic. The sing-along was fantastic and it was great hearing him imitate so many people on ‘I Love Jersey Best’ and doing it so musically,” before concluding, “This show was so good, I’m thinking about making a donation to SOPAC now!”
Lastly, Laura from Randolph concludes, “I thought it was a fantastic show! Hearing songs from the Great American Songbook plus all the holiday songs was a fantastic way to end the year!”
To learn more about John Pizzarelli, please go to johnpizzarelli.com. For information on great upcoming performances at SOPAC — including An Evening with Melba Moore on February 1, Cherish the Ladies on March 5, and Colin Quinn on April 3 — please go to sopacnow.org.
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