Their marriage has been described as 42nd Street meeting 52nd Street -- the merging of Broadway and classic jazz. Sometimes she'll provide vocals for his jazz concerts. Sometimes he'll accompany her cabaret acts. But in their current gig at the Carlyle, John "Son of Bucky" Pizzarelli and Jessica "I thought of changing my name to Pizzarelli when I got married, but I figured it would be a lateral move" Molaskey perform as equals, singing together and proving themselves the Lunt-Fontanes of the music world.

The fun and funky mood is emphasized with five duets th"at nicely blend genres, from showtunes to jazz to folk music. "If I Were a Bell is paired with "Ring-A-Ding Ding" "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby" with "Baby Baby All The Time," "The Circle Game" with "Waters of March," their signature pairing of "Cloudburst" and "Getting Married Today," and "Plenty of Money And You" with "We're in the Money." Their voices blend beautifully, their energy and enthusiasm are infectious, and one can almost hear them flirting as they sing.

An accomplished actress, Molaskey has said that she thinks of each song as a mini-play, and becomes the character singing the song rather than making the song about herself. This is especially apparent in her solos of the evening, which she always interprets with great consideration for the lyrics. She sings an ever-so-slightly modified "Small World" from Gypsy ("Funny, 'cause I'd love to have children") while looking mostly at her husband, making Mamma Rose's story of professional and romantic partnership into her own. She sings South Pacific's "I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy" in her own words, "as if Maureen Dowd had fallen in love," with as much wry surprise as wild romanticism. Her re-interpretations of these classics are wonderfully refreshing, and provide new insights into the texts.

Pizzarelli's solos are equally vibrant, although he seems to come at them from the opposite direction as his wife. In true Pizzarelli style, most of the numbers are accompanied by witty anecdotes that nicely comment on each song and what it means to him. For example, Jonathan Schwartz played a recording of Matt Hyde and Francis Henry's "Little Girl" when little Madeline Pizzarelli was born, and her dad sings it with all the pride of a new father. He plays Johnny Mercer's "I Thought About You" as a solo on his guitar, and takes a cue from the Mrs. to sing a beautifully haunting "Sorry/Grateful" from Sondheim's Company. (Any chance John Doyle is looking for a singing guitarist for the revival?)

The highlight of the evening, however, is a delightful duet of Frank Loesser's title tune to Guys and Dolls. Loesser's score for the show has provided countless jazz singers with countless songs, and the Pizzarelli/Molaskey arrangement, with alternating verses, is a prime example of jazz via Broadway. Somehow, when they sing about the lengths guys go to for their dolls, one can't help but think of what Jessica and John do for each other every time they step on stage.

John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey continue at Cafe Carlyle through May 26.

Tesse Fox
Cabaret Scenes
May 2, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org