Jazz guitarist extraordinaire John Pisano, known for his solid rhythm, melodic lead lines and generosity, died May 2 at his home in Studio City with his wife Jeanne at his side. He was 93 years old.
Pisano's career spanned seven decades and included sharing the stage or recording studio with many jazz luminaries, including Chico Hamilton, Herb Alpert, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, his old friend Joe Pass, and nearly every notable guitarist in the world. business as a presenter. for 22 years of his Guitar Night at Spazio Restaurant in Sherman Oaks.
Bob Bakert, editor of jazz guitar today, said: “I have never met a finer gentleman. John was a consummate gentleman and a truly caring and kind guy. It was always about the music, the camaraderie and his love for his fellow musicians. “John was a master craftsman.” Bakert noted that Pisano's Guitar Night tradition lives on at distinguished guitarist Frank Vignola's Guitar Night at Birdland in New York, an intentional tribute to Pisano.
Vignola said: “At the age of 5, one of the first recordings I heard was 'For Django' by Joe Pass. My guitar teacher, Jimmy George, and my father used to tell me to listen to the rhythm guitarist, John. I got to know and record with him in the early 2000s, when I played on a rare tour with Les Paul. He invited me to his house, he made me a pizza and we recorded all afternoon. What a swinging guitarist. Later, while we were on tour with Vinny Raniolo, we played Guitar Night.
John Pisano and Chris Conner in 2017.
(Bob Barry / Jazzography)
“This totally inspired me to aspire to have a Guitar Night in New York City. After COVID, Ryan Paternite reached out to me… asking if I would consider a weekly Guitar Night, 'like John Pisano', as he put it. I was pleasantly surprised that I met John and how amazing his Guitar Night was. I immediately jumped at the opportunity and we've been there for almost three years, every Wednesday night playing to almost sold out audiences on a weekly basis.
“What a great personality, person, musician, composer and pizza maker.”
“John originally started his regular, ongoing (for nearly two decades) Guitar Night series as a way to keep his skills in good shape and gain inspiration through encounters with other guitarists,” said Anthony Wilson, a guitarist and songwriter known for a body of work that moves fluidly between genres and is a frequent guest on Guitar Night.
The constant gig quickly became a hub for the Los Angeles guitar playing community and was eventually a must-see stop for many notable musicians who traveled here from across the country, as well as from further afield. Pisano very naturally assumed his role as dean of this great intergenerational group of guitarists, guitar designers and builders and guitar enthusiasts, organizing the evenings with a warm and generous spirit and playing with an open sense of musical curiosity that invited diverse approaches to the instrument and always kept the music vital and absorbing, Wilson recalls.
Pisano was born in Staten Island, New York, on February 6, 1931. His first musical influence was his father, Americo Pisano, who played guitar but never professionally, according to John's online. Biography. He started learning piano around age 10, but never cared to practice. He was around 13 years old when he started playing guitar.
He developed rapidly on the instrument, showing both innate ability and musical understanding. He then heard Charlie Christian, a jazz guitar pioneer, and soon after Django Reinhardt, which deepened his love for the guitar. He also learned about the jazz radio station WOV in New York and listened to Charlie Parker. “Birdland had a live stream around 3 or 3:30 in the morning. “I remember recording radio people like Tadd Dameron and Fats Navarro with an acetate record player I had,” he wrote.
Juan Pisano in 2013
(Bob Barry / Jazzography)
In 1952, after being in the U.S. Air Force for about eight months, Pisano auditioned for the Air Force Band. It was the only clearance for an Air Force guitarist and he got the job, which included many recruiting broadcasts.
Pisano said he never considered himself a professional musician until he started playing with the U.S. Air Force band. He also played with the Crew Chiefs, an official Air Force group that toured a few times, including a 1955 Bob Hope USO show in Greenland and a spot on “The Steve Allen Show” in Los Angeles.
When he left the service, Pisano planned to attend the Manhattan School of Music. Shortly before beginning his studies, saxophonist and friend Paul Horn, who was then working with the band Chico Hamilton, called to tell him that Jim Hall was about to leave the band. Horn convinced Hamilton to audition Pisano, who joined the band and ended up staying in California. Hamilton's band could be described as a chamber jazz quintet and produced several successful albums, including the music for the film “The Sweet Smell of Success.”
Pisano left Hamilton's band around 1956 and worked on some sessions while studying music at Los Angeles City College. In 1958, Pisano recorded two albums of guitar duets with Billy Bean, “Makin' It” and “Take Your Pick”, which were well received.
Pisano met Pass in 1962, when he asked him to replace him in Pat Cavanaugh's band while Pisano went on tour with Peggy Lee. Pass was still in Synanon but was already a legend and well known in guitar and jazz circles. Their first recording together, “For Django,” in 1964, has become a touchstone among jazz guitarists. They went on to record more than a dozen albums together, including “Whitestone,” which Pisano co-produced; “Ira, George and Joe” from 1981, on which Pass played a 12-string guitar; and “Duets” in 1991, an album of rich interaction and complex harmonies.
John Pisano, Jim Fox and Dave Stone in 1999.
(Bob Barry / Jazzography)
Always busy, in addition to his session work, Pisano joined Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass in 1967. He contributed tunes to the band's repertoire and recorded with many artists who were on Alpert's A&M record label. Pisano played on all of Sergio Mendes' early hits and a few tunes with Burt Bacharach. During that period, he was always traveling and recording. He was with Alpert's band for about four years before the band folded.
“John was certainly a father figure to me, both personally and musically, encouraging me and showing me amazing things about the instrument at a crucial point in my development as a musician,” said Wilson, “I enjoyed the many opportunities I had to play. with him and learning from him, from informal sessions at home that included his famous homemade pizzas, to many Guitar Nights, recording studios and concert halls.”
In addition to being a great teacher, Wilson also describes John as a lifelong student. Sometimes the two took lessons together, often joining “life-changing” two-hour tandem sessions with legendary guitar teacher Ted Greene. Wilson added: “As a duet partner, John was truly remarkable, always providing the exact kind of accompaniment needed (the right chord, the right rhythm, the right feel) with a sensitivity that seemed to be a musical reflection of his personality, which was empathetic, encouraging and loving; “As the best kind of friend, you always knew John had your back.”
Pisano is survived by his wife, Jeanne, a singer who performed with John as Flying Pisanos, his son Christopher, and his daughter Alyssa. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Pisano's honor to the Los Angeles Jazz Society.
