Frank Sinatra fans streaming into Morristown, NJ’s MPAC auditorium this Sunday, April 13, 2025 evening are just in time for tonight’s 7pm Sinatra and Beyond tribute by singer, pianist, and composer Tony DeSare.
Voted a “rising star” by Downbeat magazine, Tony DeSare is known for his performances in clubs and with concert orchestras in North America and around the world. With four Top Ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt, DeSare has also composed music for national commercials, motion pictures, and television soundtracks.
The lights dim and the members of DeSare’s 16-piece big band take the stage. The musicians glide into a swinging version of Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me” as DeSare makes his entrance looking dapper in his black sequined jacket. In his rich baritone voice he sings, “Come fly with me/Let’s fly, let’s fly away” before the band is spotlighted on an instrumental interlude where DeSare greets the crowd, inquiring, “How are you doing, Morristown?”
Acknowledging, “I absolutely love Frank’s home state,” DeSare reveals, “I used to live in Parsippany,” prior to joking, “As I was driving here, I went down memory lane going by the exits, and traffic is just as bad as I remember!”
Moving on to a bouncy and brassy rendition of “I’ve Got the World on a String,” DeSare croons with ease as his smooth vocal rolls over the band’s lush orchestration.
DeSare takes a seat at the piano and plays strong chords as he vocalizes the rubato introduction to “Get Happy.” Picking up the tempo, DeSare sings and swings on the tune’s “Forget your troubles, c’mon get happy/You better chase all your cares away” lyric as music lovers nod in time to the infectious rhythm.
After suggesting, “Here’s one I think Sinatra may have recorded if he had continued recording,” DeSare and Co. perform a slow and funky big band arrangement of Prince’s “Kiss.” Horn blips and legato sax lines accompany DeSare’s velvety vocal as he sings the sultry tune’s “You don’t have to be rich to be my girl/You don’t have to be cool to rule my world” lyric.
DeSare’s cascading piano playing accompanies his rich vocal on the slow introduction to Sinatra’s “Just in Time.” Walking bass and swinging drums pick up the tempo before the crowd is treated to a fast and flirty trumpet solo, a sliding trombone solo, a fast picking guitar solo, and a slapping upright bass solo on this jazzy arrangement.
The crowd cheers and DeSare exclaims, “How ‘bout that band!” before telling a story about playing at New York City’s Carlisle Hotel where he spotted Paul McCartney in the audience listening to his next song. On this original ballad, “How I Will Say I Love You,” DeSare croons, “Sing the blues/I′ll listen intently/Call my name/I’ll be at your door/Cry out loud/I′ll hold you till it’s over/And that’s how I will say I love you.”
Switching things up, DeSare and Co. fire up a swinging uptempo version of Sinatra’s “When You’re Smilin’” and follow that up with DeSare’s steamy original Latin-influenced tune, “New Orleans Tango.”
Standing center stage, DeSare performs a rhythmic rendition of Sinatra’s “Where or When” where he vocalizes with style, “It seems we stood and talked like this before,” while deftly accompanied by the big band.
After a fast-paced arrangement of “Something’s Gotta Give,” DeSare plays a jazzy stride style keyboard prelude which surges into double time prior to the ensemble joining him on a swinging version of Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.”
Music lovers feel the joy in DeSare’s voice as he sings “You Make Me Feel So Young” before he rockets into a double-time arrangement of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and features band members soloing on tenor sax, trumpet, and drums.
After talking about filming a television appearance for Hulu’s Season 4 finale of Godfather of Harlem, DeSare and Co. present a rollicking rendition of Sinatra’s “That’s Life” where the audience energetically echoes DeSare on the song’s “That’s life/(That’s life)” lyric prior to performing the rubato “I’m gonna roll myself up in a big ball” coda to enthusiastic whistles, cheers, and applause.
DeSare asks, “Who saw Frank Sinatra perform live?” before sharing his personal experience seeing one of The Chairman of the Board’s final concerts. Explaining that Sinatra’s “favorite type of song” to sing was “a saloon song,” DeSare renders his interpretation of “One For My Baby” where, in his silky smooth voice, he intones, “It’s quarter to three, there’s no one in the place except you and me,” accompanied only by the sound of a solo electric guitar.
Music lovers hoot and holler and DeSare acknowledges, “Sinatra recorded 1500 songs, so it’s hard to pick a favorite,” prior to conducting the slow intro to “I’m Gonna Live ’Til I Die.” Picking up the tempo, DeSare’s fingers fly around the piano generating applause from the crowd. Following a drum break and a guitar solo, DeSare holds out the song’s last note out to enthusiastic cheers and applause.
After talking about the ups and downs of Sinatra’s long career, DeSare performs a heartfelt rendition of Sinatra’s anthemic “My Way.” Sitting at the piano, DeSare chants, “And now, the end is near/And so I face the final curtain,” letting the words speak volumes before impressing the crowd with the song’s climactic “The record shows/I took the blows/And did it my way” ending.
DeSare and the band follow up with a spellbinding interpretation of “New York, New York,” where the crowd sings along on the “Start spreading the news/I’m leaving today” lyric. For the dramatic conclusion, DeSare holds out the word, “These…,” for what seems like ages before continuing with power and conviction, “…little town blues/Are melting away,” as the crowd sings and sways before leaping to their feet cheering.
“Should we do one more?” inquires DeSare. Concertgoers agree and call out requests before DeSare chooses “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” which he sings with style and finesse accompanied solely by upright bass. As a bonus final number, DeSare and Co. perform a swinging Count Basie arrangement of Sinatra’s “I Only Have Eyes for You,” after which DeSare exclaims, “Thank you so much!” to the standing and cheering crowd.
As music lovers make their way out of the MPAC auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s performance by Tony DeSare. Remarks Bruce from Parsippany, “I’ve been a fan of Tony DeSare for more than a decade. He’s one of my top three favorites singers in the genre. He’s such a great artist and such a great guy — he saw me sitting in the front row and did ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ for me because he knows I like it; it’s my favorite song in the genre so it’s always top of the charts when he does that song.”
Larry from Clifton declares, “Tony DeSare did a great job tonight! He’s got a great voice, he’s very personable, he said he lived in Parsippany — so there’s some Jersey roots there — plus, each of his musicians is a real professional; they were all spot-on.” Terri from Clifton concurs, adding, “He’s got such a strong voice and is such a good story teller. He had such a great variety of songs from Sinatra’s career, his band was fantastic, and the audience was very responsive, too!”
Tony from Hoboken asserts, “I thought Tony DeSare was fabulous! His singing was great and he’s an excellent piano player. His whole band was terrific, and I especially liked his guitarist, bass player, and drummer — they were incredible!” Jeanette from Kinnelon agrees, adding, “I really enjoyed the show and I’m so glad I came — his selection of Sinatra tunes was fantastic!”
Lastly, Jerry from Summit declares, “Tony DeSare’s voice sounded really great! He’s got this easygoing manner about him and is a very elegant speaker, too. Plus, the band and his musical arrangements were top-notch and the sound quality in the auditorium was stellar — super clear.” His wife, Cheryl, agrees, noting, “I could understand every word Tony sang. I loved his tone and I loved his banter, too — he was so relaxed and he really connected with the audience,” prior to concluding, “I’ve seen him perform live before so I knew tonight’s show was going to be good and it still exceeded my expectations!”
To learn more about Tony DeSare, please go to tonydesare.com. For information on upcoming concerts at MPAC — including The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA on May 1, The Happy Together Tour on June 21 and Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam on August 13 — please click on mayoarts.org.
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