Tony DeSare
Last First Kiss
(Telarc – 2007)
by Carmen Miller
Tony DeSare is Telarc’s answer to the new young crooner trend, and a pretty good answer it is. Harry Connick, Jr. and John Pizzarelli are the ‘old’ new guys in this group, and Concord records recently unveiled smooth vocalist Peter Cincotti, so Telarc had to follow suit. Everyone wants to find the next Sinatra, and the hunt is bringing some pretty talented young singers out.
To his credit, DeSare is more than a voice, having written four of the tunes on this release (including the title track). The originals stand up pretty well against the rest of this diverse collection that ranges from a downplayed version of the Prince hit “Kiss” to a jouncy rendition of the Gershwin classic “They can’t take that away from me”. DaSare’s style and sound is smooth… no question about that, and his delivery is confident and assured.
Shortly after moving to New York City in 1999, Tony was cast as the star of the long running Off-Broadway musical smash, Our Sinatra, in which he was praised by Variety for his “dapper charm.” Tony has also been a featured performer at Jilly’s, the legendary Rat Pack era celebrity hangout owned by Frank Sinatra’s best friend. In the fall of 2002, Tony performed at the Apollo Theater where he first met jazz guitar icon Bucky Pizzarelli, who lends his unmistakable sound to “Last First Kiss”.
This is a good second release for the young performer and bodes well for his future.