Tony DeSare - Night Life

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:31
Size: 90.5 MB
Styles: Vocal, Cabaret
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[3:30] 1. All Of Me
[3:41] 2. It's All Right With Me
[5:18] 3. Can't We Be Friends
[3:08] 4. If I Fell
[5:01] 5. To Make You Feel My Love
[3:43] 6. Lover Come Back To Me
[5:17] 7. Lush Life
[2:46] 8. Sabre Dance Boogie
[3:09] 9. In The Wee Small Hours
[3:55] 10. How I Will Say I Love You

Pianist/vocalist Tony Desare is a jazz musician and crooner in the tradition of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole as well as such revivalists as Harry Connick, Jr. and John Pizzarelli. A native of New York State, Desare began playing piano at a young age and by 17 had more than a few live performances under his belt. During his time at Ithaca College, Desare continued performing and developed a loyal following around upstate New York. Moving to New York City in 1998, he nabbed a gig playing at the Marquis Hotel in Times Square and eventually landed a role in the off-Broadway musical Our Sinatra. A chance meeting with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli during a performance at the Apollo Theater led to numerous projects between the up-and-coming Desare and the journeyman Pizzarelli.

Night Life mc
Night Life zippy

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Tony Desare & Edward Decker - One For My Baby

Size: 138 MB
Time: 31:27
File: FLAC
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Angel Eyes (3:13)
02. You Go To My Head (2:55)
03. When She Loved Me (3:35)
04. A Cottage For Sale (3:05)
05. Memories Of You (Feat. Bucky Pizzarelli) (3:46)
06. Deep In A Dream (3:19)
07. I'll Get You Through The Night (2:41)
08. One For My Baby (4:45)
09. She's Always A Woman (4:03)

One for My Baby is an intimate set of songs featuring Edward Decker on solo seven-string guitar and Tony on vocals. The inspiration for the album came from the great Sinatra concept albums of the 50’s, such as In the Wee Small Hours and Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely. The result is a song cycle that is a meditation on love gone wrong mixed with equal parts heartbreak and the notion that even through the pain, you can be “glad to be unhappy.”

Highlights on the album feature a uniquely dark take on Angel Eyes, with Tony’s baritone supported by the warmth and beauty of the seven string guitar, allowing an accompaniment that can sometimes sound more harp-like. The low A string allows for a much wider range of frequencies and expression.

When She Loved Me, by Randy Newman and from the animated Pixar film, Toy Story 2, is a rarely covered song that proves that the song can work outside it’s narrative purpose in the film and function as a moving song of love and loss.

Special guest, legendary 91 year old seven string guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli, joins on Memories of You with his unique single line solo playing around Tony’s vocals while Edward accompanies in a slow stride piano-like style.

The record ends on a slightly different and hopeful note with Billy Joel’s classic from his Stranger album, She’s Always a Woman, featuring a small string section as well.

The album contains two solo guitar pieces, the classic standard A Cottage for Sale and a new Tony DeSare original called I’ll Get You Through the Night.

The album was recorded at Tony’s home studio in upstate New York and he also engineered, mixed and mastered the recording.

Named a Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has won critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas headlining with Don Rickles and major symphony orchestras, DeSare brings his fresh take on old school classics around the globe. DeSare has three top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Today Show.

Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an accomplished award-winning composer. He won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, and has written the theme song for the motion picture, My Date with Drew, along with several broadcast commercials.

DeSare’s recent and upcoming appearances include the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony, The Philly Pops, The Seattle Symphony, Vail Jazz, The Smith Center in Las Vegas and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

Edward Decker names early influences as Wes Montgomery, Bucky Pizzarelli, Nat King Cole, and Andre’ Previn. Several years ago, the National Endowment of the arts recognized Decker’s prowess on the seven string guitar and awarded him a grant study with Bucky Pizzarelli. Decker has also recorded a solo 7 string guitar CD entitled “Dear Mr. Pizzarelli”.

One For My Baby

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Larry Carlton - Plays The Sound Of Philadelphia

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:46
Size: 88.8 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:26] 1. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love
[3:29] 2. Back Stabbers
[3:00] 3. If You Don't Know Me By Now
[3:27] 4. Drownin' In The Sea Of Love
[3:31] 5. I'll Be Around
[4:54] 6. You Make Me Feel Brand New
[3:22] 7. Bad Luck
[3:03] 8. Never Give You Up
[3:47] 9. Mama Can't Buy You Love
[3:02] 10. Only The Strong Survive
[2:40] 11. Mighty Love

Larry Carlton: guitar; Tony Desare: piano; Paul Shaffer: organ; Tommy Byrnes: rhythm guitar; Christopher Li'Nard Jackson: bass; Andrea Valentini: drums; Vic Stevens: percussion; Bill Labounty: vocals; Carla Benson: background vocals; Charlene Holloway: background vocals; Mark Douthit: saxophone; Darcy Hepner: baritone saxophone; Steve Guttman: first trumpet; Nick Marchione: trumpet; Dale Kirkland: trombone; Chris Komer: French horn.

Regardless of context, guitarist Larry Carlton has built a reputation as one of the tastiest guitarists around, whether he's supporting singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, jazz/pop hybrid Steely Dan or soulful jazz/funksters The Crusaders. His own records, while always accessible—at times, crossing the line into smooth jazz territory—demonstrate a distinctive blend of sweet and gritty tone, bluesy soulfulness, and plenty of jazz chops, often surfacing in the most unexpected places. Live in Tokyo With Special Guest Robben Ford (335 Records, 2009), was harder-hitting than usual, suggesting that though Carlton (and Ford) chooses easier-on-the-ears contexts, he never sacrifices the core qualities that make him worth scoping out.

Plays the Sound of Philadelphia is Carlton's homage to the songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who were responsible for a seemingly endless string of soul/R&B hits in the 1960s and '70s. The songwriting/production duo, responsible for massive hits by artists including The O'Jays ("Backstabber"), Jerry Butler ("Only the Strong Survive"), Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ("If You Don't Know Me By Now") and Joe Simon ("Drownin' in the Sea of Love"), built a sound that, ultimately, became directly associated with the town they called home.

Rather than taking these iconic songs and stretching them out for extended soloing, Carlton keeps them short—radio-friendly, and single-length, just as they were back in the day. A couple of background vocalists deliver familiar choruses throughout as a backdrop for Carlton's ever-perfect tonal and melodic choices, and Bill Labounty sings lead on a couple tunes, including the bright "Drowning in the Sea of Love" and anthemic "Only the Strong Survive," these reverent arrangements never stretching far from their original sources. Six horns drives a five-piece rhythm section that includes, along with pianist/arranger Tony DeSare, Late Show with David Letterman stalwart, Paul Shaffer, on organ.

But, at the end of the day, with a collection of songs near-Jungian in their familiarity, and terrific charts from DeSare and trumpeter Steve Guttman, it's Carlton's visceral tone and ability to get to the heart of each song in an unfailingly personal way that make this 11-song set, at just under forty minutes, a thoroughly appealing look back, for those who miss the days when The Sound of Philadelphia ruled the airwaves. All the while, Carlton's broader harmonic knowledge bolsters his chordal work on "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"—his warm, clean tone and octave-style playing clearly referencing Wes Montgomery—while at the end of the more up-tempo "Back Stabber," Carlton combines bluesy bends with the barest hint of bebop sensibility.

And that's the beauty of Plays The Sound of Philadelphia, which also comes with a bonus "Making of" DVD. As much as this fits more in the adult contemporary category than jazz, Carlton peppers the session with plenty of markers that make clear his jazz roots remain an undercurrent beneath everything to which he sets his mind. It may not be edgy or forward-thinking, but it grooves to its sources with plenty of booty-shaking soul, all the while providing the ever-tasteful Carlton with plenty of room to deliver. And deliver he does, from start to finish. ~John Kelman

Plays The Sound Of Philadelphia

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Tony DeSare - Christmas Home

Size: 100,3 MB
Time: 41:38
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Xmas
Art: Front

01. I'll Be Home For Christmas (3:53)
02. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (2:44)
03. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (3:57)
04. Christmas Home (3:11)
05. Oh Holy Night (4:05)
06. White Christmas (3:10)
07. Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (1:59)
08. The Christmas Song (3:24)
09. Silent Night (3:04)
10. Christmas For You And Me (4:33)
11. 18 Versions Of Jingle Bells (Live) (7:32)

Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness and robust musicality. Named a Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas headlining with Don Rickles and major symphony orchestras, DeSare has brought his fresh take on old school class around the globe. DeSare has three top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, the Today Show and his music has been posted by social media celebrity juggernaut, George Takei.
Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an accomplished award-winning composer. He not only won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, but has written the theme song for the motion picture, My Date With Drew, along with several broadcast commercials. His sound is romantic, swinging and sensual, but what sets DeSare apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and contemporary, yet pays homage to the Great American Songbook. His compositions include a wide-range of romantic, funny, and soulful sounds that can be found on his top-selling recordings.
DeSare’s forthcoming appearances include the National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Music Festival, The Smith Center in Las Vegas, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Phoenix Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, WI and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, amongst others.

Christmas Home

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Tony DeSare - PiANO

Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:47
Size: 95,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:46)  1. A Lot to Say
(3:16)  2. Just One of Those Things
(3:09)  3. New Orleans Tango
(4:00)  4. Faithfully
(4:03)  5. You Give Love a Bad Name
(3:39)  6. Chemistry
(5:33)  7. Where Love Lives
(4:40)  8. Autumn Leaves
(4:33)  9. Christmas for You and Me
(2:07) 10. Nothing Left to Say
(3:55) 11. I Love a Piano

Triple threat composer, vocalist, pianist musician Tony DeSare’s latest album, PiANO, adds a fourth threat, sonic experimentalist. As he explains on the album’s back cover, “PiANO is the result of over two years of experimentation and recording” on his Yamaha acoustic. “Every sound you hear on this album (other than my own voice) originated from somewhere in, on, or under the piano.” So for example, the kettle drum sound on one track was produced by setting one mic on the soundboard and a second under the keyset. DeSare then used a closed fist to strike under the keyset while holding down the sustain pedal. He describes how he got guitar and bass sounds as well. Complicated? I’ll say.
Worth the effort? Well, it does give the artist complete control over process, and at the very least that assures that the end product realizes his vision. On the other hand, there is a price in the loss of spontaneity that puts too much emphasis on a kind of technical perfection. Dwelling too much on the mechanics may drain the emotion from the music.

More often than not, DeSare avoids falling into this trap. His vocals combine some of the best elements of pop, jazz, and cabaret. His piano work is dynamic. His original tunes are witty and charmingly melodic. His covers, both of classics and contemporary pieces, put his own spin on them while managing to keep to their original spirit.

Of the album’s 11 songs, five are covers and six are originals. Contemporary tunes include what he calls his attempt to “capture the intimacy” of Journey’s “Faithfully,” and a rhythmically inventive reading of “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

From the Great American Songbook, he does an instrumental version of the hoary “Autumn Leaves” that may make some of us forget the Roger Williams pop hit with it back in 1955. It is a jazzy version that develops the song without any of the pomposity of the Williams version. He adds a bonus medley of Irving Berlin’s “I Love a Piano” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” with a little of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

His swinging nod to Cole Porter’s “Just One of those Things” makes a nice comment on his own salute to the lyricist, implicit in “Chemistry.” As you listen, you can’t help but hear the patented Porter wit in your imagination. DeSare’s “New Orleans Tango” combines the tango rhythms with a bit of blues. “A Lot to Say,” which opens the album, is a rocker and “Nothing Left to Say,” which would cleverly bookend the album were it not for the bonus track, is a catchy, syncopated toe-tapper. Worth the effort? If you can come up with an album like PiANO, you bet your life it is. ~ Jack Goodstein   http://blogcritics.org/music-review-tony-desare-piano/

PiANO

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