After completing a a neighborhood kickball game with his young son, Tony DeSare quite honestly and succinctly assessed his skills.
“I’m not quitting my day job,” he said with a laugh, speaking by phone from his home in Atlanta.
Don’t let the rising star of a piano man fool you, though. He’s deft enough with his feet to use them to help energetically pound out a jazzy tune when a fitting frenzy strikes, such as the rousing “Great Balls of Fire.”
DeSare will make his fifth visit to Columbus in five years at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 when he appears solo at a 70-minute Cabaret at The Commons performance in downtown Columbus. It will mark the first in-person show since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, for DeSare. And this time away from live performances is the longest stretch he has been home with wife Daisy and son Christopher since 2005.
“It’s actually been very good for my health,” said DeSare, who battled throat problems regularly until the the same Beverly Hills surgeon who removed Frank Sinatra’s tonsils removed his.
He mentioned that he has largely been at peace during the quarantine and amid the restrictions on larger crowds.
“I’ve just received it as a sabbatical,” DeSare said.
He expects his show in Columbus to include Sinatra, a mix of other cover jazz-oriented cover tunes, and some originals. Unlike other local cabarets, there will be no meet-and-greet session afterward — and the crowd will be required to wear masks. The seating arrangement will also be spread out to accommodate 150 people.
DeSare mentioned that he agreed to the performance partly because The Commons is a large, airy space with plenty of open room and a high ceiling — elements that he believes translate to added safety, unlike smaller jazz clubs.
He has spent 95% of his time at home since March, daily performing originals and cover tunes on his Facebook page. He also livestreamed some home concerts for $20, which have helped keep him financially stable. He most recently won acclaim from other artists for his arrangement and film editing of a video of a mix of jazz performers offering an energetic and creative rendition of the classic “Pick Yourself Up.” It has raised more than $3,000 for the Actors Fund.
“That was a real labor of love,” DeSare said.
So, too, is his work scoring films, including his current fourth such task for a Lifetime Christmas movie. Yet, for now, he looks forward to next week maybe more than anything.
“It’ll be great,” he said, “to perform once again before real, live people in the room.”
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What: The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Cabaret at The Commons with jazz pianist and vocalist Tony DeSare.
When: 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 20.
Where: The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Tickets: $45. Only 250 seats available because of social distancing restrictions.
More with the artist: visit Tony DeSare’s Facebook page or his website at tonydesare.com.
Information: 812-376-2638 or thecip.org.
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