Tony DeSare: Want You

If you hadn't heard these songs before, it would be hard to separate the originals from the classics. Glen Falls, New York native Tony DeSare blends the two so well on his debut CD, Want You, that he offers a seamless transition between standards and new material. His compositions and his interpretations of the classics make the music fresh, while keeping within the framework of the American Songbook.

With a voice that's likely to draw comparisons to Michael Buble, John Pizzarelli, and perhaps Mel Torme, this singer, pianist, and composer delivers a charming, thirteen-song album that includes six originals by DeSare and bassist Mike Lee. Among those are the title song and the amusing "(I'd Have It All) If I Had Drew, the title theme to My Date With Drew, an independent documentary film about a guy who has thirty days and $1,100 to get a date with actress Drew Barrymore.

DeSare presents a playful, romantic face as he breezes through such classics as "Two for the Road, "Just in Time, and "I Wish You Love. However, he's at his romantic best on the originals, "Marry Me and "How I Will Say I Love You, the latter supplemented by light strings. It's difficult, if not impossible, not to be moved by the sincerity as he says, "Break the rules, I'll bend them for you; play the fool, I would never know; break my heart, I'll still be glad I found you; and that's how I will say I love you.

One of the nice features of this CD—which cannot be said for a lot of releases, and is too-seldom mentioned in reviews—is that the liner includes lyrics to all songs, save for the instrumental closer, "Five Foot Two. That, and the fact that DeSare and his accompanists give us a fine recording that's enjoyable from start to finish—whether he's singing something up-tempo or working through one of the slower ballads—make Want You the type of album anyone who's in love—or trying to influence someone else to fall in love—would play, or sing along with, to get the point across.

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