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In high school, it’s the ball players who the girls all go for, right? Not. The Andy Pizzo Project just might be killing that old hackneyed wisdom—one jazzy, funky song at a time.

Turns out the real hep cats are the band guys. Most of Pizzo’s band, the Andy Pizzo Project, are band directors at area schools. The group recently celebrated the release of their debut CD, Bouncin’, wowing a packed Shaw Center audience. They played funky originals and spiced up standards with their own zing. Pizzo, a native of Metairie, spends his days as director of bands at Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School; guitarist Patrick Bordelon is band director at Central High School; and drummer Doug Gay is band director at the Dunham School. Other band members are bassist Josh Nee, who is an LSU student, and keyboardist Matt Doran, who is a computer programmer by day.

The group didn’t have any local October gigs scheduled at press time, but you can check out Pizzo with Ned Fasullo’s Big Band Oct. 9 at the LASM Planetarium, or with Phat Hat on Oct. 26 at Sullivan’s Ringside.