I’m not going to publicly degrade any artist, but after watching a solo concert by Tony DeSare, I have to ask you in all honesty, why are people (and maybe even YOU) listening to that guy who’s last name rhymes with ‘souffle’” and not more of DeSare? Armed with his piano, voice and talent, Tony DeSare blew “bubbles” away with a 100 minute concert that gave point after point why he should be the vocalist everyone raves about, and not some Canuck.
DeSare demonstrated the magic three points of being a great jazz artist. First, he showed this evening that he’s got the best vocal delivery around. He can take an old time standard like Irving Berlin’s “I Love A Piano” or something almost a century later like Prince’s “Kiss” and deliver the lyrics in that elusive but indescribable way in which it seems like he’s singing directly to you. He knows how to kick out the rhythm and blues in an upbeat “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” or take it down to a desultory “You Don’t Know Me” and make both sound convincing.
Second, he is one of the best song writers around. He delivered irresistibly romantic pieces like “Last First Kiss” and “How I Will Say I Love You” with the only thing missing was Gene Tierney leaning over the piano. He has a knack for updating Tin Pan Alley moods in everything he touches, from his joyful soundtrack piece “(I’d Have It All) If I Had Drew” to even a jingle for a busing company!
Sure, there are lots of guys that sing, and some can even compose, but DeSare displayed piano chops this evening that brought the crowd to spontaneous standing ovations. His bluesy left had sizzled on “New Orleans Tango,” and then took off on an 8 to the bar boogie to counteract the right hand wailing on Khatchaturian’s “Saber Dance.” Don’t try that one at home! Later on, he did a “History of the Greatest Piano Riffs” that stretched back from 1722 and Bach’s “Preludes” and went through Beethoven to chopsticks to Joplin to Dooley Wilson, Coldplay and “Heart and Soul.”
Topping off the evening was a solo piano rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue” that delivered all of the richness, dynamics, urgency and drama you could ever expect, just before rounding off the evening with “Great Balls of Fire.”
Like all great artists, DeSare knew when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, pacing the show with exquisite taste and style, with the audience enraptured with his own pieces as well as an ultimate late night saloon version of “Piano Man.” DeSare took us to the moon and back on a balmy Friday night in Malibu.
Upcoming shows at Pepperdine include Richard Marx 10/14, Jake Shimabukuro 12/04, Robert Cray 12/08, The Blind Boys of Alabama 01/28 and Jim Messina 01/29