2005 Elkhart Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Honoree

John "Bucky" Pizzarelli was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1926. His uncles, Peter and Bob Domenick, taught Bucky the guitar.

His career spans the years from the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra, 1943 (interrupted for army duty in Europe and Asia), then back to the orchestra from 1946-1952, to White House concerts with Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra and Claude “Fiddler” Williams.

A staff musician with NBC and ABC, Bucky has appeared at Carnegie Hall with Les Paul, George Barnes, Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops. He has also performed with the Indianapolis, Rochester and Syracuse symphonies and the Palm Beach Pops.

Bucky has toured with Benny Goodman, Zoot Sims, Benny Carter, Barney Kessel and Charlie Byrd, to name a few. In addition to his solo albums, most notably April Kisses, One Morning in May, and Flashes, he has recorded with Howard Alden, George Barnes, Eddie Daniels, Zoot Sims, Joe Venuti, Bud Freeman, Slam Stewart, Butch Miles, John Bunch, Stephane Grapelli and his son, John. He served on the faculty of William Paterson University and has played jazz festivals around the world.

IBucky has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets, honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Hamilton College and the University of Southern Illinois, and was elected to the Jazz Wall of Fame by ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers).