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John Pisano

John Pisano began his musical career on the East Coast playing the piano. At age 14 he took up the guitar. Later, in the 1950’s, he entered the service where he played guitar with the Air Force Band. Upon leaving the Air Force, he followed Howard Roberts and Jim Hall into the guitar chair in the Chico Hamilton quintet and his first significant recordings were made with Hamilton. The recordings, Chico Hamilton Quintet (1957) and South Pacific (1958) were especially noteworthy examples of Pisano’s already advanced comping, rhythm and single string solo techniques.

Throughout the later 1950’s, Pisano recorded with members of the Hamilton band, mainly Paul Horn and Fred Katz. Pisano’s work with Fred Katz was a natural extension of the Hamilton organization in style and format. The Katz recordings always included some intricate solos, supporting comping and rhythm by Pisano. Especially notable were Fred Katz and His Jammers and 4,5,6 Trio.

It was also in 1958 that John Pisano and Billy Bean recorded two albums for Decca, Makin' It and Take Your Pick. Guitar duos were not new in 1958, but the combination of Pisano and Bean, both powerful bebop players, was a new extension of this format. The intricate interplay of Bean and Pisano set a new standard for jazz guitar duets and these recordings became cult items. Both recordings presented exceptional examples of John Pisano’s single string solos, rhythm and comping. One of the best examples, in the simplest terms possible, may have been The Song Is You from Makin' It. This tune was presented in the format of two guitars and bass and was played at an exceptionally brisk tempo. The instrumentation left little room for error and also made it easy to hear both guitarists at all times. This one track makes it clear that John Pisano was every bit Billy Bean’s equal as a single string soloist and supporting player.

Despite these exceptional accomplishments as a soloist, Pisano favored and chose the role as supporting player. In his own words, the background was his “comfort zone”. His skills as a comping and rhythm player made him the perfect match for Joe Pass who was already a formidable bebop soloist when the two met in the early 1960’s. Their first recording together, For Django was just the first of many excellent recordings from this long relationship, culminating in Duets in 1991. This recording was as much a showcase for Pisano’s backing skills as it was for Pass’ soloing skills.

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Album Review

John Pisano: John Pisano's Guitar Night

Read "John Pisano's Guitar Night" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


In 1997, guitarist and entrepreneur John Pisano convinced a Los Angeles club owner to allow him to promote a series of jazz guitarists, who would perform on a weekly basis, with a different artist appearing each week. The debut of this series began at Papashon's and was later moved to Donte's (now long shuttered). The weekly event is still going strong almost ten years later, currently at Spazio's. Pisano has been providing the guitarists who work in this setting as ...

181
Album Review

John Pisano: Conversation Pieces

Read "Conversation Pieces" reviewed by Robert Spencer


Conversation Pieces is a follow-up to Pisano's 1995 Among Friends,, and like its successful predecessor it consists of a series of “conversations" Pisano holds with other guitarists: the returning Lee Ritenour, Phil Upchurch, Ted Greene, and Dori Caymmi, plus Joe Diorio and Gene Bertoncini. Actually, all the tracks here were recorded in 1994 and 1995.

Pisano is a laid-back neo-bop guitarist with a good facility for improvising in tandem; accordingly, this album is as solidly listenable as its predecessor. On ...

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Recording

John Pisano's Guitar Night / New CD from Mel Bay Records

John Pisano's Guitar Night / New CD from Mel Bay Records

Source: Mel Bay Publications

In 1997, during a series of performances at Papashon in Los Angeles, jazz guitarist John Pisano persuaded the club to begin featuring a different guitarist each week. The event became known as Guitar Night, and while the setting has since moved to Spazio, John still presides over the popular weekly series, now entering its tenth year.

John Pisano's Guitar Night, the first double CD from Mel Bay Records, features sixteen live tracks by thirteen top players, including Peter Bernstein, Corey ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

John Pisano's Guitar...

Mel Bay Records
2007

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Conversation Pieces

Fantasy Jazz
1998

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Duets

Pablo Records
1996

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