A Sinatra tribute done Pizzarelli’s way

John Pizzarelli opened his performance Sunday at Walt Disney Concert Hall by describing himself as the “other Italian singer from New Jersey.” It was an apt description for the Paterson-born Pizzarelli’s approach to “Dear Mr. Sinatra,” his tribute to Hoboken-born Frank Sinatra.

Working with a big band filled with the Southland’s finest players, Pizzarelli could have fallen prey to the Vegas-style belting of so many singers who take on the Sinatra catalog; he could even have used his impressive powers of mimicry to do a Sinatra simulation.

But Pizzarelli stuck to his own vision in a Sinatra program reaching from “You Make Me Feel So Young” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to “Nice ‘N’ Easy” and “Ring-a-Ding Ding.” Most were performed with jaunty new arrangements (by John Clayton and Don Sebesky) modernizing the strut, the swing and the intimacy of the original versions.

Pizzarelli romped through the up-tempos, occasionally tossing in a set of whip-cracking guitar and scat vocal variations.

On the slower tunes, his laid-back rhythms and cool storytelling reached into the hearts of the songs -- especially during a stunning blend of voice and instrumental timbres on the Quincy Jones-arranged “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.”

He peaked, however, in a pair of numbers with a much smaller focus: “It’s Sunday,” originally recorded by Sinatra with just voice and guitar and performed by Pizzarelli with only the backing of his own lush guitar chording; and the inevitable, but always touching “One for My Baby,” sung in atmospheric, late-night fashion to the accompaniment of Larry Fuller’s piano.

The versatile Pizzarelli also tossed in his delightfully sardonic version of “I Like Jersey Best,” illuminated by impressions of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, the Beach Boys, Lou Rawls, Johnny Cash and others. And he added a few whimsical anecdotes, including one about his only actual conversation with Sinatra.

It was an impressive outing from an artist with the musical chops, the wit and the skill never to have to describe himself as the “other” anything.