Arts & Entertainment

Les Paul Bandmate Playing in Late Inventor's Honor

Show next week is part of the "Les Paul in Mahwah" exhibit

The guitarist credited with bringing longtime Mahwah resident and famed inventor Les Paul out of his self-imposed retirement will be in the township next week sharing stories about the late music man and playing some of the songs they played together at clubs in and around NYC.

As part of the Mahwah Museum’s ongoing exhibit “Les Paul in Mahwah,” Bucky Pizzarelli, an Upper Saddle River resident, will perform a tribute to Paul next Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

The Museum released the following description of what attendees can expect from Pizzarelli and his student, Ed Laub, at their Gallery Talk next Tuesday:

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Laub and Pizzarelli will return to the Mahwah Museum on February 5 for a gallery talk in which they will recount stories about their friend Les Paul, discuss the beautiful guitars on display and show their prodigious guitar playing technique.  

Bucky Pizzarelli, a long-time resident of Upper Saddle River, is widely known for bringing Les Paul out of his self-imposed retirement in the 1970’s. Originally performing at Club 17 (just south of Lake Street, Ramsey) Pizzarelli and Paul came together as a duo in the early 70s.  In 1975, they played together at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and C.W. Post Center.  For years after coming out of retirement Les Paul played every Monday night at Fat Tuesdays and the Iridium in New York City and stars such as Pizzarelli would stop by to sit in. The master of the 7-string guitar, Pizzarelli, at age 86, still performs frequently.

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Ed Laub, an Upper Saddle River native, began playing guitar at age 12 and soon became one of Pizzarelli’s students in 1965. He currently performs in restaurants and jazz clubs and at private parties in the region, sometimes teaming up not only with Pizzarelli, but also with other star musicians. 

Tickets are $15 each, and are available online.

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