Like his key influences
Joe Pass and
Jim Hall,
Jack Jezzro is a contrapuntal guitarist with excellent taste in music. He is joined on his debut release for the Hillsboro label,
Jazz Elegance, by Jim Ferguson on bass and Jim White on drums.
Jazz Elegance features four
Jezzro originals including "Christina," "Jake's Tune," "Rose's Waltz," and "Jeanette's Day" which draw their inspiration from
Jezzro's family members. As his first jazz standards record, the former session guitarist with the Nashville String Machine features his jazz voice on "Night and Day," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and "Prelude to a Kiss" with clean, lucid strumming and his special fingerpicking style. This supple acoustic nylon-string approach results in a very natural accompaniment for his dreamy "Round Midnight" arrangement, while "My Funny Valentine" is quiet and romantic.
Jezzro is an accomplished guitarist and bass player, having played with the Nashville Symphony for many years. Due to the splendid arrangements, its elegance, and impeccable phrasings, along with the skillful chord stylings and picking techniques used on
Jazz Elegance, this CD clearly shines through and thus surpasses
Jezzro's first contemporary jazz outing titled Step on It that was released in 1989.