Febuary 06, 1931 – May 02, 2024

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Guitarist John Pisano passed away on May 2, 2024 at the age of 93.

He was born in Staten Island, New York on Feb. 6 1931.

His father was an amateur guitarist and he had an uncle who played banjo

Pisano had piano lessons starting when he was ten and switched to the guitar three years later, originally inspired by Charlie Christian, George Van Eps, and Django Reinhardt.

He played gigs as a teenager, served in the Air Force during 1952-56 (working with the Air Force Band and with a combo called the Crew Chiefs that accompanied Bob Hope) and, after his discharge, he was a member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet during 1956-58.

After leaving Hamilton’s popular group, Pisano became a busy studio musician in Los Angeles, finding time to record two albums of guitar duets with Billy Bean, and working with the Joe Pass Quartet (including recording the classic For Django album), Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman, Sergio Mendes, and Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass (1966-68).

Equally skilled as a solo and rhythm guitarist, Pisano worked with Joe Pass (a lifelong friend) during 1989-94, co-led The Flying Pisanos with his wife singer Jeanne Pisano, led 13 albums of his own and appeared on a countless number of sessions for quite a few decades.

Pisano became particularly famous in Southern California for hosting the weekly “John Pisano Guitar Night” at several different clubs for many years, featuring a different guitarist each week, accompanying and musically interacting with most of them while sounding comfortable and relaxed in every style.

Here is John Pisano, along with fellow guitarist Pat Kelley, bassist John Belzaguy, and drummer Kendall Kay, in 2012 playing “The Shadow Of Your Smile.”

-Scott Yanow

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