Jazz guitarist John “Bucky” Pizzarelli, who was inducted to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 94.
The virtuoso who had played for presidents at the White House during his long and esteemed career died on Wednesday, April 1 at his home in Saddle River, New Jersey.
His family tells The New York Times they believe the cause of death was the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. And the Bergen Record reports that Pizzarelli tested positive for the virus on Sunday.
“There will be some kind of tribute as soon as we can all get within 6 feet of each other,” his son John Pizzarelli, also a renowned jazz artist, told the Bergen Record on Thursday.
Pizzarelli was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and had a career that spanned eight decades. He showed off his musical chops for former presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and played alongside musical icons like Frank Sinatra.
“Jazz guitar wouldn’t be what it is today without Bucky Pizzarelli,” said jazz guitarist Frank Vignola.
“He and Freddie Green were responsible for a style of rhythm guitar playing that has lasted until 2020.”
Pizzarelli died with his wife, Ruth, his son Martin, and his caregiver at his side.
Jazz Great Ellis Marsalis Jr. Died After Battling COVID-19
Pizzarelli died the same day as jazz great Ellis Marsalis Junior, the jazz pianist, teacher, and patriarch. Marsalis was 85.
“Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise. But it was pneumonia brought on by COVID-19,” one of his six sons, Ellis Marsalis III confirmed in an Associated Press phone interview.
He said he drove Sunday from Baltimore to be with his father as he was hospitalized in Louisiana, which has been hit hard by the outbreak. Others in the family spent time with him, too.
Four of the jazz patriarch’s six sons are musicians: Wynton, trumpeter, is America’s most prominent jazz spokesman as artistic director of jazz at New York’s Lincoln Center. Branford, saxophonist, led The Tonight Show band and toured with Sting. Delfeayo, a trombonist, is a prominent recording producer and performer. And Jason, a percussionist, has made a name for himself with his own band and as an accompanist. Ellis III, who decided music wasn’t his gig, is a photographer-poet in Baltimore.
“He went out the way he lived: embracing reality,” Wynton Marsalis tweeted, alongside pictures of his father.
Marsalis’ wife, Dolores, died in 2017. He is survived by his sons Branford, Wynton, Ellis III, Delfeayo, Mboya and Jason.
NTD staff contributed to this report.
