New Jersey Stage Issue 70 | Page 40

says, ‘Let me tell you something: your job as a musician is to make everyone you’re playing with sound the best they can sound. It’s not about you. That’s how you make music.’” “Instead of being a primadonna and an upfront spotlight kind of guy, he knew and understood his role as a support musician and an ensemble player that made music what it is,” continued Laub. “People always look at the person up front and think that’s where all the talent is, but when you look at a band and an orchestra, it’s all the foundation that makes the music sound like it sounds like. That’s what he was all about. He constantly reinforced that with me. He’d say, ‘I’m going to make you sound as good as you can sound and you’re going to make me sound as good as I’m going to sound, and we’re going to have a great duo.’” In addition to decades of per- forming live, Pizzarelli was a studio musician for years with a resume that includes such memorable Watch Bucky and John Pizzarelli perform “I Like Jersey Best” NJ STAGE - ISSUE 70 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 40