Jimmy Mazz / James Mazzaferro

Bio / History
I began singing when I was 14. Back in junior high school I joined a group of friends that had a band called Vitus Pike. I became the lead singer. As I stood there on the Ludlow Boys & Girls Club stage with my hands in my pockets, we played covers by David Bowie, Kiss and Deep Purple. Soon after I began learning to play the guitar from my good friend Tim Shea, whose father taught guitar at the local music store.

As I got older I sang and played guitar in a number of groups covering many different bands until I decided to form my own half original, half cover band called Puppet in 1980. We covered Devo and Elvis Costello tunes, and I wrote a bunch of “New Wave”  original songs and recorded a 3 song EP/ single called “No Strings”. I still have a couple of cases of them in my basement. But we did enjoy moderate success opening for major label acts like The Go Go’s, and The Psychedelic Furs at cool clubs around the Pioneer Valley. I played in a few projects following that until I then took a day job as the manager of a Boston-based music store called E.U Wurlitzer. There, I was reunited with a few longtime friends that were losing there bass player to nursing school. The band was called Group Therapy. So, I switched to playing bass guitar and we changed our name to Picture This. Although we wrote many original songs, we also covered bands like The Talking Heads, The Cars, and Billy Idol. This was a really great band and we were close to a small recording contract, but as the saying goes, close but no cigar. So we independently recorded a 5 song EP/Album. I still have a few of those around too. After Picture This disbanded in 1989, I started Real World, an all original group that featured my original songs. I wrote about 60 songs that year and we received a fair amount of attention from the press. But again, members get bored if the “cool” gigs and the money dry up so we kind of went our separate ways after a year or so.

In 1993, I joined a local wedding band called Breezin’. This group had already been around for 10 years and was extremely popular. I was a bit out of my element here wearing a tuxedo and playing Celebration, so it was about a year before I really felt comfortable with the show. I mean I knew the material and such, but it was the whole schmaltzy interaction with the audience thing I was uncomfortable with. This was a huge change for me. From ponytails and screaming girls, to the bride’s father yelling at me to turn it down. But I must say, that in the 8+ years I spent with Breezin’, I learned more about music, singing, entertaining, audiences and myself musically, than I had learned in the previous 20 years. We became a unit, a team and were very tight. I mean telepathically tight. I really learned how to command an audience, to structure a show, and really entertain people. Not just play in a band. This experience is what makes me able to do what I’m doing today. After Breezin’ retired in 2000, I played with several local groups as a fill-in bass player, and enjoyed the no stress part of playing in someone else’s band when I felt like it. And as a singing bass player there was no shortage of work. But it didn’t take long for me to get the itch to have my own project again. And with digital technology so advanced, I got the idea to start a one-hit-wonder band, and sequence the basic music tracks so we didn’t have to have a full group with a ton of equipment, various personalities and several conflicting schedules to deal with. And I was able to target smaller venues like restaurants instead of clubs, which made for a much easier gig. Now we could play a more intimate show, split the money fewer ways (if there was any), and get home a little earlier to boot. We started out as a 3 piece, but when one member left to pursue a different musical direction, Tommy Sandomiersky and I hit the road as 2XS. This name came about because we were two divorced guys, (get it?) and we tended to take certain things to excess while performing. (know what I mean?) Hey we just made sure that everyone (including us) had a great time that’s all. Anyway, not long after I was asked to do a wedding. I tried to decline because 2XS was not the traditional wedding band that Breezin’ was, but I finally agreed. Then the panic of the responsibility set it. So I quickly learned a cocktail / dinner set for the more mature guests. Based on the response and appreciation of that audience, The Jimmy Mazz Show was born. Since that 2XS show, the Jimmy Mazz Rat Pack Style Solo Show of Standards and Classics has just exploded with popularity, and is just a pleasure for me to perform. I truly love everything about doing this show. I’m sure that my enthusiasm is part of why this show is experiencing such rapid success. People just love the music. I perform the hits of artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Lou Rawls, Engelbert Humperdinck, Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Tom Jones and many more. I basically just sing like myself however a bit of the original artist just seems to shine through naturally. I don’t try to impersonate, but folks say that I do tend to sound like the original artist. Well thanks for visiting…see you from the stage!