Paul McCartney inspires new album and related cabaret act

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Paul McCartney Inspires New Album--And Related Cabaret Act--With His Lesser-Known Songs
Jane Levere , CONTRIBUTOR
NOV 3, 2015

The newest album of guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli came about at the suggestion of none other than former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Midnight McCartney–which was released in September and some of whose numbers will be performed in a new cabaret act, by Pizzarelli and his wife, the singer Jessica Molaskey, debuting tonight at New York’s Café Carlyle–features McCartney’s lesser-known songs.



In May 2014, McCartney wrote to Pizzarelli—who had made a CD in 1996 called John Pizzarelli Meets the Beatles, and later played guitar on McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom album and backed him on several live performances, including the Grammy Awards–to tell him, “I got an idea in my head.  It might be interesting for you to do a few of my songs that are lesser-known than some of the others.  I realize this may be a little immodest, if not pushy.  I imagine the songs would include post-Beatles melodies of mine like ‘Love in the Open Air,’ ‘Junk,’ ‘Warm and Beautiful,’ and, possibly, ‘My Valentine.’”


John Pizzarelli and his wife, Jessica Molaskey, are performing in a new cabaret act at the Cafe Carlyle in New York featuring songs by Paul McCartney from their latest album, “Midnight McCartney.”

Concluding his letter to Pizzarelli, McCartney wrote, “The attraction for me is lesser-known tunes done in a mellow jazz style, and, if it gets some traction, maybe the album could be titled ‘Midnight McCartney.’  As I said, this may tickle your fancy, or you may decide these are the ramblings of a deranged composer with too much time on his hands.”

Inspired by McCartney’s suggestion, Pizzarelli, Molaskey (who eventually co-produced the CD) and pianist Larry Goldings dug through McCartney’s albums from the past 50-odd years to identify songs that could be reharmonized and adapted for Pizzarelli’s style.