Singer, pianist and composer Tony Desare earned high praise for his recent debut at the legendary Café Carlyle. “With his dark hair, bright brown eyes and toothpaste smile that rarely fades,” raved The New York Times, “he exhibits the slicked-up charm of an early ’60s pop star with Rat Pack dreams.” United Press International called him “the freshest face on the saloon circuit…[with] a straight-forward delivery that is hard to beat in a profession that already has too many overly mannered divas. You’ll be seeing him around a lot, and very soon.” MSNBC praised him as “an engaging singer, with a warm, clear, mellifluous voice and some real stage charisma.”

Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness, and robust musicality. His takes on classic standards and sophisticated original compositions have earned him a reputation as one of New York’s hottest young singer/pianists. His sound is romantic, swinging and sensual, but what sets Tony apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and at the same time blends seamlessly with the Great American Songbook. Tony has the capability to glide from a standard by George Gershwin to a contemporary classic by Tom Waits to one of his inventive original songs with ease.

Radio Show, his new album on Telarc set for release in January 2009, embraces a variety of eras in American popular music, all tied together by the voices of radio announcers who set the tone for each individual track and the recording as a whole. The album weaves a few original compositions with material from sources as diverse as Harold Arlen, Bob Dylan, New Order, Hoagy Carmichael, Chuck Berry and more. But more than just a collection of period songs with clever intros, Radio Show is a historical retrospective of the intimate relationship between the music, the listener and the magic medium that brought them together.

Radio Show is the followup to Toney’s 2007 recording, Last First Kiss, which spotlights a refreshingly contemporary combination of originals and standards, from Prince’s “Kiss” and Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” to classics like “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” and Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen’s under-recorded gem “Come On Strong.”

Want You, Tony’s debut CD, debuted at #16 on the Billboard jazz chart when it was released in May 2005 by Telarc International. The CD includes standards like “Two For The Road,” “Just In Time,” and “I Wish You Love,” as well as originals “Marry Me,” “How I Will Say I Love You,” and the title track. He performed selections from the CD on national broadcasts of the CBS Early Show, NBC Weekend Today and Fox News Channel. His tour to promote the album brought him to New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and more.

Tony composed and performed the title theme to My Date With Drew, an independent documentary feature film about a guy who has 30 days and $1100 to get a date with Drew Barrymore. It has been featured on “The Tonight Show,” “The Today Show,” Playboy Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Premiere. The film – awarded top honors at the New York Gen Arts Festival, the HBO Comedy Arts Festival and the Vail Film Festival – was released in theatres nationwide in 2005. The movie’s theme song, “If I Had Drew,” is featured on the CD.

Tony was personally selected by Sam Arlen, son of Harold Arlen, the composer of classic songs like “Over The Rainbow,” “Get Happy,” and “Stormy Weather,” to perform with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Birdland for the 2005 Harold Arlen Centennial. His new big band show was presented by “Saturday Night Live” alum Joe Piscopo in Atlantic City.

Born in Glens Falls, New York, Tony was raised in a musical family and began singing and playing professionally at 17. By the time Tony started college, he had opened for visiting headliners and built a large regional following playing to packed houses. The Tony DeSare trio was one of the most popular bands in central New York State while Tony attended Ithaca College. Tony and his band continually sold out shows in clubs and showcases throughout upstate New York. He took first place in the “IC Showcase,” a college sponsored national battle of the bands and was a semi-finalist in the MasterCardActs, a national talent search for college performers.

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. Since then, Tony and Bucky have performed numerous times together. Currently, Tony has become a main attraction at New Jersey’s premier jazz club, Shanghai Jazz, where he plays monthly to sold-out crowds. Tony and bassist Mike Lee were also featured in New York TV personality Bill Boggs’s Off Broadway show Talk Show Confidential at the John Houseman Theater.