A.J. Croce has been honoring his legendary father, Jim Croce, with “Croce Plays Croce” for about seven years. The bittersweet run will soon come to an end. 

“This is the last leg of my ‘Croce Plays Croce’ tour here in America,” Croce said.

“I have played this music at this point longer than my father. It’s been a lot of fun. This has been just amazing. The audience is very involved. I have a basic framework for the show, but things change every night. It’s fun for the audiences as well as for me.”

Jim Croce released songs like “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle” from 1972 to 1974. He died in a plane crash on Sept. 20, 1973, at the age of 30, when his chartered plane crashed into a tree during takeoff in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

The musician is bringing “Croce Plays Croce” to the Fox Tucson Theatre on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and the Mesa Arts Center on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

“Some people expect a bunch of ballads,” Croce said. “It changes from night to night. We’ll play some ballads because that’s part of his catalog, and songs like ‘Time in a Bottle,’ ‘Operator’ and ‘These Dreams’ and a dozen other great songs. 

“I can’t keep the tempo there. I put it together the way I put my albums together — I’m constantly ascending scale-wise. Even if it’s a fast song, if it’s a slow song that happens next, it’s going to be in a higher key, which at least brings the audience. It feels like it’s going to a new place.” 

Croce — a singer-songwriter, pianist and multi-instrumentalist — waited 30 years to perform his father’s legendary songs.

“It just felt right when I started doing it,” he said. “I got better at it, and I learned more about how to put the shows together — what flows and what feels right and finding the balance of having my stuff and other people’s music.”

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He sees a common thread between him and Jim’s music.

“I think my father had more folk influences,” he said. “I have more jazz and blues influences. I grew up as a piano player, and I’ve gravitated toward that. My dad loved that stuff, too. It was part of his record collection. It’s where my love of music and inspiration started from.” 

Croce stated clearly that “Croce Plays Croce” is not a cover band.

“I’m an interpreter of songs for sure,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always done with my own music. When I’m playing someone else’s songs, I’m going to interpret it the way I do. Of course, I learn the fundamentals of what’s important about the piece. 

“There are certain songs in my father’s catalog that are precious. We play those very close to the original. If people want to hear the record, that’s what they should listen to. If they want to hear a live concert and they want to hear the music living and breathing, it has to be in the moment.”

For Croce, “Croce Plays Croce” is more than a tribute — it’s an introduction. The pull of Jim’s classics brings audiences in, he said, and from there, they’re primed to hear his.

The singer-songwriter, piano virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist has forged his own award-winning career in nearly 40 years and 11 studio records. More than 20 of his songs have reached the Billboard Top 40 album charts across multiple genres.

Croce moves fluidly through American roots, rock ’n’ roll, blues, jazz, soul, and world music.

“I have a much larger catalog than my father,” he said. “I’ve played all kinds of music and worked with so many artists — from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Ry Cooder and Willie Nelson. I’ve even recorded with Waylon Jennings. There’s a huge range of music I can draw from.

“I can’t draw from everything in my catalog. Some songs aren’t appropriate for the show.”

When he arrives on stage, the nostalgia becomes three-dimensional because most of them did not see Jim in concert. 

“His career was 18 months, so a lot of people didn’t see him,” he said. “This is a way for people to get a little piece of what it was like. The stories are the secret sauce in this show. My father was not just a storyteller in song, but just a great storyteller.”