Tony DeSare (born 1976) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer, pianist and songwriter.

Early life

DeSare was born in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls refe ...

in 1976. He began playing the piano as a young child, and had public performances in his late teens. He kept performing locally during his studies at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

Later life and career

DeSare moved to New York in 1998 and played in a hotel, then performed in an off-Broadway musical. He met guitarist

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

, who helped his career develop. DeSare's debut album, ''Want You'', was released by

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

in 2005. The material included standards, covers of lesser-known pieces, and originals. It peaked at No. 43 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' jazz albums chart. DeSare's 2007 release ''Last First Kiss'' also included originals and standards, from

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's "Kiss" and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

's "

I Feel the Earth Move I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

" to " Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You" and " How Deep Is the Ocean?" It was featured on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' and reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' jazz albums chart. Telarc released ''Radio Show'', which included standards and DeSare's originals, around 2009. A Christmas album, ''Christmas Home'', was released by AJD around 2016.

Discography

* ''Want You'' (Telarc, 2005) * ''Last First Kiss'' (Telarc, 2007) * ''Radio Show'' (Telarc, 2009) * ''PiANO'' (AJD, 2013) * ''Christmas Home'' (AJD, 2015) * ''Lush Life'' (with Tedd Firth) (AJD, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desare, Tony 1976 births Living people 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians American jazz singers American jazz pianists American male jazz musicians American male pianists Songwriters from New York (state) Ithaca College alumni People from Glens Falls, New York Telarc Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male songwriters